Change of Scenery
by BeBraveLive4Me
Summary: Jude Harrison's life has been picked up and moved while she was on tour. How is she going to deal? Especially now that she's at a new school, Degrassi Community School. Takes place after Instant Star's SISOSIG and Degrassi's Tears Are Not Enough
1. Chapter 1

"Have a good day, sweetheart," Victoria Harrison called out to her daughter, Jude Harrison. 

Jude glanced over her shoulder and smiled at her mom. They both took a moment to take a good look at each other, then Victoria continued unwrapping her dishes and placing them in the cabinets. Jude slowly turned back around and muttered sarcastically under her breath, "I'm just sure I'll have a great day."

Grabbing her backpack off of a random chair, Jude made her way past crowds of stacked cardboard boxes. Each box was stuffed full, forcing the cardboard out of shape. Even trying her hardest to find a safe way through all the boxes, Jude managed to brush up against each one. When she finally made her way to the front door, Jude found herself out of breath. She exhaled deeply as she opened the door to find Tom Quincy at her doorstep.

Tommy smiled and chuckled lightly to himself. "Need a ride?"

Nodding, Jude smile at Tommy and closed the door behind her. The made their way to Tommy's Viper and he kindly opened the door for her. She took a seat, looking up at Tommy with the sun brightly shining behind him. It just reminded Jude how hot Tommy was, and that very special day in her life.

_Jude wiggled her way through the tight aisles of the airplane. It was crowded, and a little uncomfortable, but she thought about how much more uncomfortable she'd be in first class. If flying didn't make her nervous enough already, feeling any more uncomfortable just made it worse._

_She finally reached her seat about halfway back the plane and reached for the overhead bin. Jude let her backpack fall off of her shoulders. As she was about to lift the bag over her head and into the bin, she heard a familiar voice say, "Let me help you with that."_

_Watching hands grab her bag, Jude glanced up to see the man helping her. To her surprise, Tom Quincy stood in front of her with the blazing sun brightly shining from the window behind him. He lifted her bag with ease and stored her bag in the overhead compartment. Jude couldn't help but be stunned when she saw him. To saw the least, Jude was lost for words. However, that didn't last long. Almost hitting her like a ton of bricks, Jude blurted out, "What are you doing here? Should you be on your way to Europe with my sister? Is Sadie here?"_

_"Whoa, whoa. One question at a time." Tommy glance over Jude and saw a long line of people starting to build. "Window or aisle?"_

_Jude crawled over the seat to reach hers at the window, never taking her eyes off of Tommy. After she sat, Tommy did also. The both got comfortable as Jude only gave Tommy a curious look. "So?" Jude asked, ready to explode._

_"Sadie is not here, because I'm not going to Europe with her. And… Well, I'm here to be with you."_

Closing the door for her, Tommy brought Jude back to today. He ran around the car and got in his own seat, quickly putting the keys in the ignition. Jude put her hand on his and giggled at his actions. "What's the hurry, turbo? I didn't even get a proper hello."

Tommy took Jude's hand and kissed it gently, then pulled her in to kiss her tenderly on the lips. "Hello."

"That's better," Jude commented blissfully. She stared into his eyes, but he pulled his hand away from hers to start the car. Feeling a little offended, Jude asked, "Do you have somewhere else to be?"

Letting his hand fall back to Jude's, he leaned back in his seat. "You know I'd like to sit here with you forever, but you can't be late for your first day of school." Tommy used his other hand to brush her cheek and pull her in for another kiss before he started the car and pulled into the street.

Jude watched the houses the passed, still trying to figure out her new neighborhood. She fidgeted with the straps of her backpack and quietly hummed the melody to "Pick Up the Pieces" to herself. Biting her bottom lip, she continued humming, a little muffled now.

"A little nervous?" Tommy asked as he observed Jude's awkward behavior.

Jude looked over at Tommy with a concerned look on his face. "No, of course not." Jude lied obviously as Tommy stopped his car in front of the red light. He placed his hand on Jude's knee and pleaded her to tell him the truth with his eyes. "Fine. I'm nervous."

Tommy gripped her knee a little tighter, massaging it. "It's okay to be nervous, girl. It's not like you haven't had a first day of school before. Plus, who wouldn't love you?" Tommy knew a compliment would make her feel a little better, but including a warm smile.

Unfortunately, Jude was too flustered to smile back, or even take in Tommy's comment. She quickly threw at him, "You almost chose my sister over me. Not to mention it's not just the first day of school. It's not everyone's first day. It's just my first day. Mine only."

With the light turning green, Tommy returned his focus to the road. "Ok, so you're the new kid. Be the cool new kid that everyone wants to be friends with."

Jude tapped her thumb against the hard binder in her backpack. Her nerves were unwilling to die down. "Tommy, I've never been the cool kid." Jude ran her fingers through her hair, exhaling deeply. "At least I used to have Jamie and Kat. Now I have no one in that school."

Tommy pulled up in front of a large staircase. Both Jude and Tommy looked up at the building over the stairs. Tommy couldn't help but turn a little more to his right watch Jude's face turn even paler. He used his fingertips to gently turn Jude's face towards his. "You'll be fine. You'll have a great first day, and you'll make some friends, and at the end of the day, I'll be right here to pick you up."

Still a little upset, Jude nodded her head. She leaned forward and gave Tommy a light peck on the lips and sat back in her seat. Jude took a deep breath and put on a brave face. She turned her attention back to the school building at mumbled quietly, "Degrassi Community School… Here I come."

Tommy watched Jude climb up the steps as he replied quietly to himself, "That's my girl," and pulled out into the street.


	2. Chapter 2

Jude made her way through the crowded front entrance. Her heart pounded hard and fast in her chest. Once she found herself a quiet and open place to stand, she surveyed the building. She saw multiple doorways surrounded by lockers, just like her old school. The main difference between the schools, Jude had no idea who anyone else was, and she had no idea where to go.

A light tap on Jude's shoulder was followed by an, "Excuse me." Jude turned around and met the eyes of a blonde girl with a taller, shaggy blonde haired guy behind her. "Aren't you Jude Harrison?"

"Yeah. That's me." Jude smiled at the couple kindly, trying not to show her nervousness. 

The girl returned the smile and replied, "I'm Paige, and this is Spinner." 

Spinner smiled at Jude, and looked her up and down. He noticed her backpack and expressed a little curiosity on his face. "Are you going to school here?"

Jude smiled and nodded again. "Yeah. It's my first day." Jude tugged on her backpack straps with her thumbs.

"Oh man." Spinner turned around, almost in a completely circle and said to Paige, "We're going to school with Jude Harrison." He looked excitedly at Paige and Jude, who only looked at him strangely. "I gotta go tell Craig!"

Watching Spinner run away, Jude and Paige had themselves a giggle. "Don't mind him, hun, he's just a little jumpy. But I guess that's why I love him. Anyways, I'll give you a little tour of the school." 

"Thanks." Jude felt a little more comfortable in the school already. She usually hated it when Tommy was right, but it might do her some good for him to be right this time. "What year are you?"

Paige walked a little ahead of Jude, leading the way to the office. "Same as you. Me and Spin are in grade 10, so you'll probably have classes with us." 

"How did you know what grade I'm in?" Jude asked as she took an extra large step to catch up with Paige.

Stopping in front of a busy doorway, Paige waved at another girl in the distance. "Hello. You're famous." Paige and Jude waited for a second while another girl stepped beside them. "Best friend, meet newest friend. Hazel, this is Jude. Jude, this is Hazel."

"No way." Hazel stood in front of Jude, staring at her jaw hanging low. "You're Jude Harrison!"

Jude gave a small smile, slightly biting her bottom lip. "Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you."

Standing in silence, Jude awkwardly looked around. Feeling the tension between the three, Paige stepped in and blocked Hazel's eyes from staring a hole into Jude. "Jude, this is the main office. You can't get your schedule right there, and we'll wait for you."

"Thanks," she directed towards Paige. Paige and Hazel watched her leave the group. Jude made her way into the office and stopped in front of the desk of an elderly woman. "Hi, I just transferred here."

In the hall, Paige lightly hit Hazel on the shoulder. "Stare much?"

A little embarrassed, Hazel took her eyes off of Jude and focused on Paige. "That's Jude Harrison!"

"Yeah, hun. We've been through that already."

Hazel looked back into the office as Jude glance over her shoulder at the two of them. Hazel quickly flashed back her attention to Paige. "Oh my gosh! That's Jude Harrison! I can't let her see me again until I have something cool to say…"

Right when Jude rejoined Paige and Hazel, Hazel quickly scurried away from the group. Jude ran her fingers through her hair and cleared her throat. "I hope she didn't leave because of me."

"Oh, no!" Paige turned Jude around, bringing her to a new hallway. "That was just… Hazel being… Hazel! Anyways, this is where the science room, and that over there is Ms. Kwan's English class." The walked a little bit further and looked into the large windowed area of a room filled with computers. "This is Mr. Simpson's room. He teaches Media Immersion."

Jude stopped and looked at the piece of paper in her hands. "Mr. Simpson… He's my homeroom teacher." She took another good look at the room, thinking about all the empty seats being full with people she didn't know.

"Mine too. I can introduce you to my group. You'll fit in great at Degrassi." Paige gave Jude a welcoming smile. She held her hand out to Jude and asked, "Can I see your schedule?"

Handing the paper over to Paige, Jude looked around to see groups of people staring at them and whispering. By now, Jude was getting used to the fact that she would often be treated this way. Trying not to let the crowds bother her, Jude looked away and spotted Spinner with another guy in the distance. They walked towards them and Spinner waved wildly at Jude. She waved back with a smile, slightly embarrassed, and turned back to Paige.

Nodding as she surveyed the schedule, Paige announced, "Lucky, Jude! You have three classes with me, and the rest you have with some of my other friends. We're all pretty awesome, so trust me, you're lucky."

"That's good to hear," Jude replied. It only took a few minutes, but Jude felt at ease at Degrassi. "Hopefully everyone will be as nice as you've been."

Paige laughed a little and confessed to Jude, "Most people don't think I'm all the nice… But I'm working on it."

Handing the schedule back to Jude, Paige looked around them to see multiple faces staring at the two. Jude could see Paige's reaction and immediately comment, "Most people would rather stare than help show me around the school."

"Don't worry, hun. Paige can take care of this." Paige took a few steps away from Jude and gave a deadly glare to the masses. When they didn't instantly turn away, she asked, "You guys wanna take a picture or something?" 


	3. Chapter 3

Spinner and another guy pushed their way through a crowd of people heading the opposite direction. Giving Paige one look, Spinner understood what had just happened. "That's my girl. Scaring large groups of people away."

Smiling sweetly, Paige added, "That's my guy. Romantic as ever."

"Ha," Spinner sarcastically threw in. He turned his attention back to Jude and looked at her from top to bottom again. "Jude, this is Craig. He's also a rockin' musician."

Shaking her hand, Craig let out a nervous, "Hey."

Jude smiled, trying to ignore the fact that Craig's hand was almost dripping with sweat. "Hey," she replied back. She smiled as he nervously shook her hand repeatedly. She glance downwards, trying to signal a release, and he suddenly let go. "So, a fellow musician. What do you play?"

"I, uh…" Craig let of a nervous chuckle as he stared down at the floor. He looked up bashfully at Jude, not fully raising his head. "I play the guitar. And-- And I sing."

"Cool." Jude could see that he was uncomfortable. She thought that he probably looked like her in a plane, on her way to her first day at a new school. She then thought about how Paige was nice enough to help her out, and she felt she should do the same for Craig. "Maybe we can jam sometime."

Craig's mood instantly brightened. "That would be awesome! I--You--That--" He glanced upwards, clenching his jaw.

"Spit it out," Paige blurted.

He looked over at Paige, and then back to Jude. "I'm trying to think of a way to say this without sounding too… Teenybopper." 

Running her hands through his shaggy locks, still checking Jude out, Spinner said, "I think you already covered that with 'I--You--That'."

"Funny, Spin," Craig threw at him sarcastically. "Well, I guess…" Craig started to feel a little nervous again and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked up at Jude and saw the nerves in her eyes also a little fluttered. "Jude, you're a genius! All your songs are completely masterful, and I'm not just saying that because you're big right now. I really do think you're awesome," he rambled.

She couldn't help but smile when anyone complimented her music. She knew it was something she always wanted to share with the world. Now, the more people that knew her music, the more people knew her. Throw in the fact that they like her music, and Jude is a happy girl. "Thanks. But it's not just me. Tom Quincy co-wrote a lot of my songs and Kwest helped him mix my stuff. Then there's my band and everyone at G Major…"

"Modest too!" Paige hooked her arm in Jude's. "I like this girl!" 


	4. Chapter 4

A loud bell rang throughout the school. Students scurried into classrooms as Jude, Paige, Spinner, and Craig made their way into Mr. Simpson's room. Paige walked Jude over to Mr. Simpson's desk and cleared her throat, asking for his attention. Mr. Simpson looked up, expecting to see Paige, but also saw a red-haired beauty. "You're Jude Harrison," he said excitedly as he stood. 

"Yeah, I've been hearing that a lot lately." Jude tousled her bangs between her fingers and held out her schedule with her other hand. "I just transferred to Degrassi."

Staring at her with wild eyes, Mr. Simpson replied, "Well, welcome to my homeroom. Sit wherever you'd like."

Showing Jude over to a somewhat loud area of the room, Paige sat in her usual seat and pulled another chair next to her for Jude. She sat down and looked around to see many faces gazing at her. Once again, in a more stern tone, Paige cleared her throat, causing all the others to look away. "Jude, I'd like to introduce you to my friends. You already met Spin, Craig, and Hazel… Where's Hazel?" Paige stopped speaking and looked around the classroom and found Hazel across the room in the corner. Hazel caught Paige's eye and held up a piece of paper titled "Cool Things To Say To Jude Harrison". Paige shook her head slightly in disbelief and sighed. "Never mind about her. Jude, this is Jimmy, Ashley, Ellie, and Terri."

Terri welcomed Jude to Degrassi with a warm smile and asked, "Do you like Degrassi so far?"

Nodding, Jude replied, "Everyone's been pretty nice so far. Thanks to Paige, I'm not still wondering the halls."

Letting off a earsplitting and unruly laughter, Jimmy almost fell out of his seat. "You're funny. You're a funny girl."

The rest of the group finally took their eyes off of Jude and stared at Jimmy. Terri, sitting closest to Jimmy, patted him kindly on the knee. "You a little nervous, Jimmy?"

"Nah. Why would I be nervous? It's not like I, Jimmy Brooks, do not know how to act when a celebrity starts going to our school." He scratched the back of his head with a nervous laughter.

Blushing slightly, Jude added in a timid voice, "No, I'm not a celebrity."

"No, you're not." Ashley said off to the side, with a bitter look on her face. The entire time, she sat silently next to Ellie, who didn't look very happy either. Ashley stood and picked up her backpack off of the floor, getting ready to leave. "You're a poser," she stated as she turned to leave the group.

"What's your problem, Ash?" Craig blurted out.

Ashley turned back to face the Craig. She flashed him a deadly glare. "Are you serious? She's my problem! She's posing as some hardcore rocker chick, but all she is, is an ex-boy band member's project."

The faces around the classroom returned to staring, but more attention was focused on Ashley now. Jude could only look downwards at her feet, trying not to cry. She could only think of one thing to help her.

_Sitting in her school's bathroom floor, Jude's face was soaked with tears. She asked in a pleading voice, "Then tell me, how do I not care what people think?"_

_"By caring more about what you think!" Tommy exclaimed. He bent down closer to Jude and looked her deeply in the eye. "Don't you ever ask anyone's permission to like your own music, you understand?" Tommy calmed himself for Jude's sake and asked softly, "Do you love that song?"_

_"Yeah," Jude confessed with a saddened tone. "I did. And then Jamie made me doubt…"_

_Frustrated, Tommy shouted, "Forget Jamie!"_

_Sighing, Jude responded, "You know I love it."_

_"Don't you ever let your friends, or the crowd, tell you if it rocks. You go out there and you tell them." Tommy stood, ready to leave. He took a few steps, but quickly turned around and added, "I believe in you."_

Bringing Jude back, she heard Craig's voice. "You know she has great songs, Ash."

Ashley shook her head, refusing to admit Jude had any talent whatsoever. The only thing she did was flashed heated looks between Craig and Jude. Craig took them with ease, but Jude couldn't stand to look Ashley in the eye. She knew that she shouldn't get upset when someone doesn't like her music, but that just meant that someone didn't like her. Ashley bit back, "Right, Craig. I'm sure I'm not the only one that's heard, 'I'm In Love With My Guitar'."

Quickly wiping away her tears before they fell, Jude was ready to skip school for the next year. Paige caught her actions and felt her pain. "Why don't you just stop, Ashley. It's called jealously. We get it."

Now with another person on her dirty glare hit list, Ashley took off for the other side of the classroom. Paige put her hand on Jude's knee and patted it slightly, showing her support. Jude looked over at Paige and then up at the rest of the group, "Thanks. But I don't want to get in the way, you guys. She can come back, and I can go sit somewhere else."


	5. Chapter 5

"Don't be silly," Paige said calmly to Jude. Paige glanced over her shoulder at Ashley, staring right back. "Ashley's just being a drama queen, like always." 

Turning away from her computer, Ellie Nash made it obvious that she was ready to throw in her opinion. "If you guys didn't remember, Ashley tried out for the Instant Star contest."

"So?" Jimmy asked. He looked over at Ashley, her eyes still peering into their group. "Jude doesn't have to feel bad that Ash didn't win the contest."

Ellie nodded and returned to the computer. "I'm just saying, I would be upset too."

"Jealous," Paige corrected, trying to get into Ellie's face. "Ash wasn't upset, she was just jealous."

Flashing back around, Ellie looked Paige straight in the face. They sat boldly in front of each other, waiting for the first person to speak. Realizing the start of a fight, Jude interjected, "I'm sorry. You guys really shouldn't be fighting over me." Jude grabbed her bad and started to stand.

"Sit." Craig stood first, stopping Jude from standing fully. Once she fully sat back down, he returned to his seat. "You won the contest. You have an awesome album. And you go to school here. That's it."

Jude smiled and nodded. She had her doubts about why these people wanted to be her friend, but it seemed like they were just genuine people. They sat around as Mr. Simpson called roll and made some announcements. She pretended to listen, when all she could really think of was her old school. She didn't care too much about the Degrassi lunch specials when she thought about hanging out in the halls with Kat and Jamie. Sighing to herself, Jude rethought her longing to be back home. Even if she was back at her old school, she really doubts Jamie would be standing in the hall with her. She didn't blame him after what happened though.

_Nervously, Jude flipped open her cell phone. She hesitated to call, but she knew she had to. "Hey, Jamie."_

_"Jude!" Jamie excitedly exclaimed. "How are you, rockstar!"_

_"Umm…" Jude was flustered. She was thinking so hard about what she had to say that she couldn't even hear what he previously said. "We need to talk."_

_With a slight chuckle, Jamie replied, "Well, we're on the phone. The most we can do is talk."_

_Completely ignoring his humor, Jude cleared her throat. She looked out the window of the car and saw Tommy in the gas station. He saw her too, and smiled pleasantly from his place in line. She realized she wouldn't have much more alone time and quickly noted, "I'm serious, Jamie."_

_Almost immediately, Jamie's happiness washed away and worry took its place. "What is it, Jude?"_

_"Us," Jude responded calmly. Her heart sunk into her chest. Jude couldn't help but feel horrible that she had to say what she was going to say. She crossed a line with Jamie that they might not be able to go back on. Jude just didn't want to lose her best friend. "I love you, Jamie. You know that."_

_Jamie cleared his throat loudly into the phone. "I do." He wanted to cry, knowing where the conversation was going, but he wouldn't let himself. Instead, Jamie turned to anger. "Why don't you just get to the point, Jude."_

_"I think we should just be friends. I've been thinking about this a lot--"_

_"How much is a lot, Jude?" Jamie was nearly shouting in the phone. "You've been on tour for what? A week? And now you can say that we'd be better just as friends." His heart was rose back, but thumped hard in his chest._

_Her eyes began to water, but she kept them in. "I'm sorry, Jamie. But it's just how I feel--"_

_"No, Jude," Jamie interjected. He paused, trying to catch his breath and his thoughts. "It's how you don't feel."_

_Her tears started to fall uncontrollably. "Please, Jamie. Don't make this harder than it has to be."_

_"What's wrong?" Tommy asked as he approached the car._

_Jude looked up at Tommy. She was surprised to see his face, no matter how comforting it was at the moment. Taking her eyes off of him, she looked back down into her phone._

_"That's Tommy, isn't it?" Jamie asked calmly. To anyone else, it would've seemed like Jamie was fine, but Jude could hear the depression in his voice. "I get it now, Jude." He hung up the phone._

"Let's give a warm welcome to our new student, Jude Harrison," Mr. Simpson told the class. They all clapped and Jude smiled, unsure of what had been said earlier in the class. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"


	6. Chapter 6

Jude stood and slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "I'm Jude. Umm…" Jude glanced around the room at all the faces waiting. She glanced down at her bag, focusing in on the band pins. "I love The Clash and--"

Across the room, and hand shot up into the air. "What's your favorite Clash song?" Ashley asked with a snooty attitude.

"Hard to say," Jude responded. She rocked on her heels and bit her bottom lip lightly. "All their songs are great."

Ashley nodded with an evil smirk. She turned back around to face her computer dramatically. Under her breath, she muttered, "Poser."

"Excuse me," Jude called back to Ashley. "What did you say, I didn't catch that." She stood boldly, awaiting an answer.

Flying back to face Jude, Ashley smiled sweetly. "You heard what I said. The Clash is the band that you throw out there to sound like you know something about good music. You don't know anything about them. I bet your real favorite band is… Boyz Attack… If you even consider them a band."

"Just give it a rest!" Paige shouted behind her. She turned to face Ashley and looked her dead in the eye. "For the record, I liked Boyz Attack, and I know for a fact that you liked them too. You might think you're a deep songwriter now, but I remember when you would sing horribly off key to 'Pick Up the Pieces'."

A smile broke on Jude's face, thinking about Lil' Tommy Q. But she knew she couldn't just let Paige fight all her battles. "I have nothing to prove to you, Ashley."

Spinner chuckled in the corner. He covered his face to pretend to whisper something to Jimmy, but announced it loud enough for the entire class to hear. "She already proved she's better at the Instant Star contest."

The entire room filled with laughter, but Mr. Simpson interjected. "That's enough. Thanks for the intro, Jude."

Jude sat back down, a little irritated by Ashley. "Is she always like that, or am I getting special treatment?" Jude asked.

"She's…" Jimmy started, taking a quick glance in Ashley's direction, and then back to Jude. "Feisty. Sometimes she takes things too seriously…"

Emerging from a chuckle, Spinner broke into the conversation. "What don't you just say she's has a giant stick up her butt?" The others gave Spinner a shocked look, even Jude. "What? The rest of you were thinking it."

Sighing, Jimmy patted Spinner on the back. "It's called tact."

"I'm just trying to fill Jude in on Degrassi. Anyways, Ashley's a drama queen. She always has to be the center of attention. Oh! And this one time--"

"Spin," Terri interjected. "That's enough. Yeah, Ash can be a real pain sometimes. And a lot of the time, she takes things way too far. But she's still our friend."

Spinner cleared his throat, calling for attention. "For the record, I never really wanted to be her friend. I don't even really like her."

"Nice, Spin," Paige threw in.

Using his fingers and desk as some sort of drum, Mr. Simpson announced, "Alright everyone! Get to your classes."

Everyone grabbed their bags and stood. While heading to the door, Craig asked, "What's your first class, Jude?"

"Uh…" Jude shuffled through her bag, looking for the paper with her schedule on it. When she spotted it, she pulled it out and scanned it. "Science."

"Cool," Craig responded. "You have it with me, Jimmy, and Paige. And Ms. Hatzilakos is nice."

Jude smiled, a little comforted by the fact that she already made some friends. "Sounds like fun." 


	7. Chapter 7

"It's nice to meet you, Jude," Ms. Hatzilakos greeted with a warm smile. "Find a seat and make yourself comfortable." 

Jude turned away from Ms. Hatzilakos' desk to face a classroom with seats filling up closely. From the corner of her eye, she saw someone waving at her. Turning her direction over to the flailing hand, Jude realized there was an open seat next to Paige. As she made her way over to the group, Paige moved her backpack from the seat next to her and onto the floor. "Like we'd let you sit anywhere else."

Smiling, Jude took the seat. "Thanks." She sat to the left of Paige on a high bench in front of a tall lab table. Directly behind her sat Jimmy, and to the right of him, Craig. They sat at the last two lab stations in the corner of the room, where Paige always found it comfortable to pass notes.

A bell alarmed throughout the school and the classrooms suddenly grew quiet. "Alright, you guys, it's time to take some notes," Ms. Hatzilakos announced to the class.

Everyone reached into their backpacks and groaned. Jude reached into her bag and grabbed a purple spiral notebook along with a black pen. She opened the notebook and clicked the pen open, quickly ready to take notes. She glanced over at Paige's supplies and saw a hot pink pen and a metallic silver covered spiral notebook. A slight depression swam over Jude as the girly school supplies reminded her of Sadie.

_"How was Europe?" Jude asked as she greeted her sister with a hug._

_Sadie patted Jude's back in the hug and hastily pulled away. She gave Jude half a smile and replied softly, "It was good."_

_Jude looked into Sadie's eyes and Sadie quickly tried to look away. "Then why does it sound like you hated it?"_

_Giving Jude a deadly glare, she replied, "Well, I expected to spend most of my time with my boyfriend." Sadie clenched her jaw, trying to hold back tears._

_Jude could see her sister's eyes begin to water. "I'm sorry, Sadie." Jude held Sadie by the shoulders, trying to get her to look Jude in the eye. "I didn't know Tommy was going to come with me. He just did it."_

_With a shocked expression, Sadie looked at Jude and tears fell. "He went with you?" she asked, her voice shaky._

_Her jaw dropping, Jude replied in a whisper barely determinable, "Yeah."_

_"I--I though he just needed to clear his mind." Sadie ran her fingers through her hair, ruining her soft curls. "He chose you." Almost immediately, something snapped in Sadie. She raised her voice, "How could you do that to me? I'm your sister!"_

_Returning the deadly glare, Jude chuckled sarcastically. "Come on! You were going to go to Europe with him." Jude looked at Sadie who obviously wasn't understanding her point. "He's been my producer for how long? Because I fell for him the first time we were in the studio together. If you really want to put our sisterly bonding on this, then you would've known how I felt."_

_Although her face was already damp, Sadie held back her tears. She nodded, looking off to the side since she couldn't face Jude. "If that's how you feel, then we don't have to be sisters."_

_"Sadie…" Jude said sincerely as she shook her head._

_Her eyes cold, Sadie replied, "We don't need to pretend like we care about each other anymore. You can go with Mom, and I'll go with Dad."_

_"What?"_

_"Oh yeah…" Sadie said, faintly nodding her head. "Protect Jude. Jude comes first. Precious little Jude. Everyone pity Jude." She ran her fingers through her hair again, making it a complete mess and matching her emotions. "Dad's moving in with Yvette, and Mom's moving because she can't stand to be in the house anymore. No one told you because they didn't want you to freak while you were on tour anymore." Sadie turned away to leave the tour bus. "They should've just told you. I mean, you have Tommy to comfort you."_

_Grabbing Sadie's arm before she had the chance to leave, Jude pleaded, "Please, Sadie, don't be like this."_

_Angrily and dramatically pulling her arm away, "I'm not being like anything, Jude. Tommy and I were together. You stole my boyfriend. And you broke Jamie's heart." Her tears started up again and Jude couldn't help but shed a few also. Sadie hated that it had to be that way with Jude, but she also liked the fact that Jude was pained too. She gave Jude a fake grin and commented, "It's your last night on tour. Have a great concert, Jude."_

Ms. Hatzilakos wrote on the white board with a bright green marker, differing from the other words in blue. She read aloud as she wrote. "Symbiosis is a close ecological relationship between the individuals of two, or more, different species. Sometimes a symbiotic relationship benefits both species, sometimes one species benefits and the other's expense, and in other cases, neither species benefits."

Jude quickly scribbled the words across the lines of the notebook paper, trying to catch up on the previous notes she missed. She glanced up and down as she tried to write the words Ms. Hatzilakos had written on the board. Nearly done copying, Jude took another glance down at her paper and saw a neatly folded piece of paper lying on her notebook.


	8. Chapter 8

With a touch of stealth, Jude quietly opened the note folded twice. She looked downwards at the large, pink writing. The note read, "Speaking of symbiosis, what's up with you and the boys?" 

Taking glances back between Ms. Hatzilakos and the note, Jude wrote back, "What about the boys?" Pretending to pay attention in class, she slid the note across the counter, back to Paige.

With a little smirk on her face, Paige wrote back quickly. "You know… I've heard rumors about you and Lil' Tommy Q. What's up? Co-worker, friend… Really good friend?"

"Well…" Jude started, but she stopped, hesitant. It was true that she was more than friends with Tommy, but the whole world didn't know yet. The whole world wasn't supposed to know yet. . "We're just friends."

Reading the note, Paige smirk disappeared. She loved her gossip, and so far, it wasn't turning out to be that juicy. "How can you be 'just friends' with a man as gorgeous as that?"

Jude took in the note, but quickly put it in her pocket as Ms. Hatzilakos turned to face them. She stared for a moment, but went directly back to the board. Taking the note back out, Jude responded, "He's like, nine years older than us. Not to mention we have to work together."

"I wouldn't mind 'working' with him…" Paige wrote with a smile. She added, "Any other guys in your life?"

Biting the end of her black pen, Jude thought about the guys in her life that weren't Tommy. And then she realized there were none.

_"We're moving?" Jude shouted angrily at her mother._

_Victoria Harrison looked at her strangely. "Who did you hear that from?"_

_"Just answer the question, Mom!" Jude read deeply into her eyes, and could sense her instant concern. She sighed deeply and added quietly, "Sadie told me."_

_Grabbing Jude's hand, Victoria led Jude to the dinner table and sat her down. "Honey, I should've been the one to tell you. I just… I wanted you to be happy on tour, have the time of your life."_

_Understandingly, Jude nodded her head. "I did. But why do we have to move?"_

_"It hurts… Being here." Victoria glanced around the open room with tears in her eyes._

_Feeling her mother's pain, Jude bit her lip to stop her tears. "But you were doing so well before I left. I thought you were okay…"_

_Bringing her attention back to Jude, she stated, "I was." She quickly wiped away her tears as they fell. "Jude, your dad filed for divorce."_

Jude glanced over her shoulder at Paige, waiting for an answer. Trying to make up for time, she rapidly wrote, "Nope," and passed it over.

"Alright! That's it for today. Wait for the bell to be excused." Ms. Hatzilakos started erasing the board, mostly of the notes Jude didn't catch.

Paige leaned her side against the counter, positioning herself to face both Jude, and the guys. "That was one of the dullest class periods ever."

Nearly asleep, Jimmy rubbed his face. He threw in, "Since school is so exciting to begin with…"

Chuckling, Jude commented, "That wasn't so bad." With blank stares from the others, she felt the need to explain herself. "My math teacher last year… If I didn't hate math enough to begin with, he made it a hundred times harder to understand. He was so horrible he made himself fall asleep."

"Well, Armstrong's a great math teacher. Math with him is pretty chill," Craig stated.

"No." Jude shook her head with a smile. " 'Math' and 'chill' never go in the same sentence in my book. Math is my least favorite subject… In life."

"You're a musician! How can you hate math?" Craig questioned with a smile on his face.

Biting her lip with a confused look on her face, Jude questioned, "What does being a musician have anything to do with my hatred of math?"

Craig used his fingers to tap out different rhythms on the table, bobbing his head along. "Rhythms. Measures. Beats. It's all math, Jude."

"But it's no (3X/5Y)7/4A," Jude giggled.

Returning the laugh, Craig stated, "True. But you can't hate something that you love."


	9. Chapter 9

"Speaking of math," Paige started, "that's my next stop."

Jimmy reached for his backpack and zipped it closed. He added, "Same here."

Glancing down at her schedule, Jude was suddenly worried about her next class. "I-I have art with Solomon." She looked up at Paige hopefully, but still a little nervous.

Paige smiled after she recognized the nervous look on her face. She glance over at Craig, who had developed a smirk. "I think you have art with Craig next."

"Yeah," Craig agreed with a nod. "And Ms. Solomon is great. She's kinda crazy sometimes, but I think that just makes her a real art teacher."

With a sigh of relief, Jude stated, "I can't wait."

"Won't have to," Jimmy stated. He started counting back, "Three… Two… One…" And the bell rang, excusing the students from their classes.

Everyone rushed out the door, but Paige and the others took their time. If Jude was back at her old school, she would be rushing out the door too. She never liked school or cared much about it, but it was just something she had to do. It was like, the faster she got to class, the quicker it would end. For Paige, Jimmy, and Craig, it was like school was just something they had to do, but they'd do it in their own time. For once, Jude was running with the cool kids. Even so, they still didn't compare to Jamie or Kat.

_"I deserve worse," Jude muttered glumly, lying on her back on Kat's bed._

Sitting on the floor, next to Jude's head, Kat flipped through a magazine. "Yeah you do," Kat responded slightly distracted.

Jude sat up on her bed, shocked by her agreement. She knew it was true, but best friends were supposed to make you feel better, even when you really were dirt. "Kat!"

"I'm sorry, Jude," Kat quickly muttered. She closed the magazine and turned to face her friend. "You broke Jamie's heart. I just… I don't blame him for not wanting to talk to you."

Jude nodded as tears formed in her eyes. She realized that best friends were also supposed to tell the truth, but this time, the truth sucked. "I didn't mean to…"

Trying to comfort her friend and stop the tears, Kat sat on her bed and gave Jude a hug. "But you did." Kat bit her lip as soon as the words came out, but it was too late to take them back. And Kat was never one to regret stating the truth. Kat just held Jude tighter and whispered to her, "He'll forgive you, Jude. Just give him time."

Backing away from Kat's grip, Jude looked into her eyes. "Do you really think so?"

"No," a stern voice replied from the doorway. "Temporary insanity's long-lasting effects."

Both of the girls instantly turned to look at the man in the doorway. Jamie stood tall, watching them. They didn't know how long he had been there, but it was long enough to know they were talking about him. He looked angry, and a bit tired by his abnormally messy hair and rings around his eyes.

With him finally in reach, Jude jumped off the bed towards him. He had been avoiding her for so long, it was nearly impossible to get that close to the boy-next-door. "Jamie! I'm so sorry--"

"Save it," he replied calmly. "Cause you know what, Jude? I don't care."

He turned out of the doorframe and headed down the stairs. Jude couldn't help but follow him down. Kat stood at the top of the stairs watching, but didn't get too close. It was one fight Kat had promised herself to stay out of.

Jude called after him, "Jamie! Please wait!"

"Why, Jude?" Jamie screamed back. He stopped once he reached the bottom of the stairs and took a few steps closer to Jude, somewhat scaring her. "So you can break my heart again? You kissed me, and now you're taking it all back!"

Letting her tears fall freely, Jude looked Jamie straight in the eye. "I'm sorry that I hurt you, but if you end our friendship now then you're hurting both of us."

Turning away, Jamie opened the door. He stopped halfway out and said without turning around, "I have nothing left to lose."

The words hit Jude hard. She never expected her friendship with Jamie to end, and especially this way. Just watched him make his way out the door, but before he could completely close the door behind him, Jude yelled out, "You promised we'd always be friends."

Jamie stopped and blinked away a few tears. He thought about all they had been through, but he continued away and closed the door behind him. He wasn't going to let anyone or anything block him as he marched towards his car. Still, Jude tried. She followed him out, but not to make him forgive her.

"I'm moving, Jamie. No more Carson High. No more being neighbors with my best friend." Jude simply stood on the step to the doorway of Kat's house, waiting for him to reply.

Opening the door to his car, Jamie started to get in, but stopped. He stood in the open doorway and looked at Jude pained. He breathed deeply, just watching her. The only word he could manage to say at that moment was, "Goodbye," and he drove away. 

"See you later, Jude!" Jimmy called out as he turned off to stop at his locker.

Jude waved to him and continued with Paige and Craig. Paige and Craig greeted many various people in the hall, and introduced Jude to almost all of them. Some were excited to have a star in their school, and other hadn't even heard of Jude, but almost everyone was welcoming.

Meeting up with Spinner and Terri again, Paige stated to Jude, "This is my stop, but I'll save you a seat at lunch."

Nodding, Jude smiled and replied, "Thanks. I'll see you then." She continued down the hall with Craig pointing out the significance of some classrooms, students, and teachers.

"So are you an awesome artist too?" Craig questioned, trying to make conversation.

Jude chuckled. "No. Far from it. It just… Fit my schedule."

Craig nodded and commented, "It's a pretty fun class. And you'll get to meet some kids from the other grades."

"Cool," Jude responded with a nod.

Placing his hand on the small of her back, Craig moved Jude into the classroom. She was amazed the instant she walked into the room. The walls were covered with artwork, and the tables were splattered with paint. The teacher sat on a bench in front of an easel with her hair messily put in a bun with chopsticks. She was wearing on oversized white shirt, splattered with the same paint to match the tables.

"Welcome to art," Craig stated as he walked in front of her to lead her to their seats. 


	10. Chapter 10

Jude followed Craig past numerous easels and to the back of the room where there was a wall of cubby holes. He easily shoved his backpack into one of the holes and then placed his leather jacket on top of the bag. "You can put your stuff here."

"Mmkay," Jude replied as she put her bag into the hole next to Craig's. 

They then made their way over to a closet. Various oversized shirts were hung in the closet, messy and ragged. Craig reached up for one and handed it down to Jude. "Just so we don't get too messy," he said as he smiled and reached for one of his own.

Putting the shirts on and buttoning them up, Craig led Jude to his usual seat. The both sat down and finished putting on the shirts. The easels were placed in a circle, facing each other. In the middle of the circle sat numerous objects on stools, from a bowl of fruit, to a single tennis shoe. Looking down at the easel, a rainbow of oil pastels were scattered about the holding tray. Jude picked up the lime green oil pastel, reminding Jude of her sister's Beetle.

Jude sat at her bedroom window, staring out into the neighborhood. Her eyes were stuck between three main point: Jamie's house, Sadie's car, and the moving truck. Even though it would still be her dad's house, it would never be the same. She was going to move across town with her mom, leaving everything she used to know behind.

"I'm sorry," Sadie said quietly to Jude's back. Turning around, Jude saw Sadie standing in the doorframe with her arms crossed across her chest. Sadie was dressed in sweats, with her hair in a messy bun on top of her head. She took a few steps closer to Jude and sat down on the bare floor, beneath Jude. "Sometimes our fights are just beyond stupid… And I know that you didn't steal Tommy. It just hurt, you know?"

Nodding her head, Jude understood everything. "I'm still sorry for the way it happened, Sadie." She slid off of her chair and sat on the floor next to Sadie.

Leaning forward, Sadie gave her sister a giant hug. She muttered into Jude's hair, "I just don't want you to go."

"I don't want to go either." Jude pulled away from the hug and looked Sadie in the eye. "But I have to."

"You don't," Sadie stated. "I'm sure Dad won't mind if you want to live here with us."

Jude smiled at Sadie, wishing she could stay. "I can't do that to Mom. She needs someone, even if she doesn't say it. She'd be completely broken if I told her I wasn't going with her."

"Come with me," Craig said, standing.

Getting up, Jude went with Craig a couple easels down. He stopped behind a blonde and brunette girl and stated, "Jude, this is Manny and this is Emma."

The brunette girl bounced up out of her seat. "Jude Harrison! I heard you were at Degrassi, but I thought they were just kidding! I love '24 Hours'!"

"Hi," Jude replied as she shook the excited girls hand. "Thanks."

Emma turned around and stated, "It's nice to meet you, Jude."

"Nice to meet you too, Emma," Jude stated with a little ease. Most of the other people she met weren't so calm when meeting her. She looked over at Manny and quickly added, "And you too, Manny. Nice to meet you."

Manny giggled a little, but stopped as she got pushed slightly out of the way. A boy with a backwards baseball hat popped up in front of Jude, a giant smile on his face. "I'm JT!" he said excitedly.

"Hey," Jude said with a short chuckle. She leaned backwards slightly, JT standing less than a foot away from her with his hand out to shake. He took his hand, but shook it with caution.

Noticing her nerves, Craig stepped to the side of the two of them and commented, "Take it easy, JT."

JT held his hand in front of his face, inspecting it. He sighed with delight and expressed, "I'm never going to wash this hand again."

"Eww," Manny said as she took her seat again. 

Jude and Craig shared a laugh and went back to their easels. Craig took the pastels in his hands and started drumming them against the easel. "They're cool kids," he said trying to make conversation. "JT's not very mature, but he's not so bad either."

Picking up one of her oil pastels, Jude also tapped it against the wood frame of the easel. Their beats mixed, making a crazy rhythm, almost like magic. The both bobbed their head to the beat and Jude replied, "They're nice."

"Yeah," Craig replied. "Do you like it here so far?"

Nodding, Jude answered, "I do."

The beats suddenly stopped as Craig dropped his pastel on the floor. His eyes stared upwards, and over his easel. Also catching Jude's attention, she stopped her drumming and looked over at where Craig was staring. Sitting directly across from the two was Ashley, with a deadly stare.

"Please don't tell me I took her spot," Jude said to Craig without taking her eyes off of Ashley. 


	11. Chapter 11

"You didn't take her spot…?" Craig stated with uncertainty. He could tell that didn't help and he quickly added, "Ash is a big girl. She can find her own seat." 

Jude nodded in agreement, but still felt uneasy. It was hard for Jude to accept that fact that someone already hated her on the first day of school. Especially since she didn't nothing. Ashley just hated Jude because she was Jude.

Ashley gave the two a hair flip and looked away, pretending like she didn't care. She took a seat across the room from them, discreetly glancing at them one more time.

As subtle as she was, Jude caught it. Jude knew that look. It was the look a person would give when they wanted to know another person's reaction. When they wanted to know if the other person still cared. Jude knew that look well.

_Jude loaded a few of her boxed essentials into the back of her mom's car. She took one last look at her house and let out a deep sigh. Turning to get into the passenger's seat of the car, Jude noticed Jamie in front of his house._

_The boy next door stood staring. He quickly looked away and bent down to start his lawnmower. As the engine started going, Jamie maneuvered around the lawn, trimming the blades of grass into a neat order. He tried to keep his eyes to himself, but he couldn't help flashing glances over at the Harrison home._

_Wanting to run over to him and into his arms, Jude froze. She knew that she couldn't do those things, especially they way their last conversation ended. The way their last conversation ended, their friendship was supposedly over also. Still, she couldn't help watching him. And wanting him._

_Finally being able to move, Jude inched forwards. She wasn't ready to say goodbye to everything she knew, but she had to do it. Her mom was waiting and eager to go on her own._

_Victoria started the engine, and pulled out into the street. As they passed Jamie, he subtly glanced over his shoulder, trying to catch a last look at Jude. Even more importantly, he wanted to know if she was getting a last look at him._

"JT, leave her alone," Jude heard Emma call out.

Turning her head slightly, Jude came face to face with JT. "Hi," she stated nervously and shocked. She didn't expect him to be there, or so close.

JT smiled brightly and replied sheepishly, "Hi." He started to unbutton the top of her shirt before he handed Jude a marker. He held his shirt open to reveal his chest as he asked, "Will you sign--"

After turning his head to see JT's scrawny, white chest in his own and Jude's face, he pushed JT backwards. "Go away, man!"

Jude quickly reached for a piece of paper on her easel and scribbled her name and a little message on a piece of paper. She handed it back to JT, who was buttoning up his shirt. "Sorry, I'm a pen and paper type of girl."

"JT: You're a cool… But strange kid. Don't let anyone change you. Rock on, Jude," JT read off of the paper. He smiled and said to Jude, "Thanks."

"Anytime," Jude said. Looking over at a still slightly disgusted Craig, Jude asked, "What?"

Realizing what his facial expression must've been saying, Craig turned his attention back to his easel. "Nothing…" He turned back to Jude once he could think of something other than JT's pasty white chest in his face. "Are all your fans like that?"

With a chuckle, Jude responded, "No. I don't have all that many fans, and if I do get approached, I don't usually sign flesh."

"Not that many fans?" Craig questioned with a touch of shock in his voice. "People love you!"

A loud scoff was heard from behind the two. Putting on an oversized shirt from the closet, Ashley stood directly behind them. She was turned away from them, but she was obviously responding to Craig's last statement.

"They do," Craig said boldly. He said it loud enough for Ashley to hear them behind him, but faint enough not to call any extra attention to them. "You're one of the most talented artists out there."

Jude could feel herself begin to blush. "That's sweet, but I'm really not that good."

Craig shook his head with a smirk. "One of these days, you're gonna have to give yourself some credit."


	12. Chapter 12

Ms. Solomon stood in the middle of the class with a bright smile on her face. She rearranged some of the props in the middle, then turned on the mini radio in the center of the display. She played the music loud enough for everyone to hear, but quiet enough to be spoken over. She cleared her throat and announced, "I think we could use today to collect our thoughts in the form of art. Paint, draw, carve… Do anything that you can express yourself with." 

As she finished her statement, she tilted her head with a wide smile and sighed. She seemed to enjoy the fact that her students had a free period to work, when other teachers would just throw busy work at them. Jude couldn't help but smile back before Ms. Solomon walked away, back to her desk. Both Jude and Craig started scribbling across their canvases.

Peeking his head over her shoulder, Craig snuck a look at what she was working on. He couldn't make out the shapes, but he could feel she had something going. "What are you working on?" he asked softly.

Truthfully, Jude had no idea what she was doing. She had just taken Ms. Solomon's advice to express herself, and started making various shapes. She smirked and shook her head, "I have no idea."

Nodding his head in understanding, Craig tilted his easel slightly, so she could see what he was drawing. One his paper was a exaggerated drawing of Jude's encounter with JT. He was obviously scrawny in the drawing, as well as stark white. Jude, however, he made look like a glamorous beauty. He was very detailed when it came to drawing Jude, all the way from the flow of her flaming red hair, to the star ring she wore on her middle finger. "You like it?" Craig asked with excitement.

"I love it," Jude confessed along with a laugh. JT's part in the picture was hilarious, but she couldn't have felt more beautiful with the interpretation of herself from Craig. "So you are an artist."

"The artist formally known as Craig…" He had a chuckle and turned the easel back to himself. "I give everything a try… For the most part."

Jude nodded her head, but found that her own work was turning into something. She continued drawing, adding colors here and there, adding more detail to the shapes.

Craig watched her draw intensely. "I thought you said you didn't know what you were doing."

Jude scratched a few more lines before she took a break and leaned back to admire her work. "It just came to me…" Jude leaned in and added a few more colors.

She turned her attention to Craig and turned the easel to him. "What do you think?"

Taking in the colors and piece of work, Craig nodded his head. "It's awesome-- And don't deny it." He smiled at her sweetly. "Do you mind if I ask who is it?"

Trying to evaluate her work, Jude glanced over each detail of the picture. "They're a couple," she replied simply as she shrugged her shoulders.

He pressed his lips together and stated, "I knew that. I'm just wondering who you're with in the picture…"

Shocked, Jude have him a curious look. "Who ever said the girl's me?"

With a big smile on his face, Craig responded, "I can just tell… I mean, look at the charm bracelet."

Jude looked at the spot Craig was pointing out. The two people in the picture were holding hands, and the girl was wearing a charm bracelet identical to the one Jude was wearing.

_Sliding a black, velvet box across the table near the end of their meal, Tommy smirked. He watched Jude carefully as he said in a soft voice, "Open it."_

_"What is it?" Excitement took over Jude as she grabbed the box. She opened it slowly, flashing glances between the box and Tommy. Opening it all the way, Jude saw a beautiful silver chain with two charms hanging from the sides. One of the charms was a music note, the other a star._

_Trying to read the expression on her face, Tommy asked, "Do you like it?"_

_Leaning across the table and closer to Tommy, she kissed him gently on the lips. "I love it."_

_He took the bracelet out of the box and proceeded to help put it on Jude. He took his time, enjoying the feel of Jude's silky skin. He stated, "I figured this could be a souvenir for your first tour. You could pick up a charm at each stop."_

_"That's so sweet." As Tommy finished, she took his hand and cradled it in her own. "I love you."_

_Tommy brought her hand closer to himself and kissed it gently. "I love you too." For the rest of the night, they held hands across the table, staring into each other's eyes._

"So who's the guy?" Craig asked, still staring at her drawing.

"Tall, dark, and handsome… I guess you could say he's my dream guy…"


	13. Chapter 13

Craig and Jude left the art room with their drawings in hand. They laughed as they walked and talked down the halls. It was nice that Jude already had a friend she could let her guard down with. 

"So what's the next stop for you?" Craig asked.

She fished around in her bag for her schedule. Jude pulled it out and read, "History."

Nodding, Craig directed Jude to turn down a hallway with him. "I have English next, but I'll take you to your history class first." He glanced over his shoulder at Jude and could tell she wasn't too excited about that. "If it makes you feel any better, you have history with Terri and Marco. You met Terri this morning."

"Yeah." All Jude could really remember about Terri was that she didn't say much.

Craig waved to a guy that soon approached them. "And this is Marco."

"Ju-Jude Harrison?" Marco stuttered.

Both Craig and Jude laughed, having already heard a nice variety of reactions to her. Jude smiled and replied, "Hi."

Craig nudged Marco slightly, causing Marco to pick up his jaw and wipe the shocked expression off of his face. Craig cleared his throat and stated, "You have history with Jude. Think you can handle that?"

Marco nodded at Craig and looked back at Jude. "I'm not usually this big of a dork, it's just not every day that we have someone as awesome as you at Degrassi." 

Jude sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I am pretty awesome…" She looked over at Craig and gave him a wink. She laughed lightly as she turned her attention back to Marco. "And I'm usually not that full of myself, but I thought I'd take some of Craig's advice… Until he leaves."

"Which I should probably do now, so I'm not late for class." Craig waved goodbye to the two of them and added, "See you guys at lunch!" He made his way down the hall in the path they just took. He went the complete opposite way in a hurry. He obviously went out of his way to take care of Jude.

Marco held a hand out, directing Jude into the classroom. She stepped in first, and Marco followed in after her. She spotted Terri, and both of them went towards her. Jude sat in the seat in front of Terri, and Marco sat to the right of her. The sat pretty close to the exact middle of the desks.

Marco leaned forward a little in his desk to talk to Jude. "So, do you like your classes so far?"

"Yeah," Jude said, nodding her head. "I mean, I was a little nervous at first, but everyone seems pretty cool."

Terri smiled sweetly at Jude and stated, "Degrassi is a pretty good school. We have our fair share of drama, but you just need to make the right friends."

"And we're the right friends," Marco added.

Jude smiled and the teacher at the front of the room caught her eye. He was a tall, skinny man, with glasses perched on the top of his head. She looked down at her schedule again to read his name. Jude turned back to Marco and Terri. "Mr. Perkins… Is he cool?"

Both of them gave each other a strange look. Terri leaned in a little bit closer and whispered in Jude's hear. "He's a little slow sometimes…"

Jude looked up at him again, and saw he had fallen asleep at his desk. She turned back to her new friends and laughed lightly. "Is he for real?"

Marco nodded with his own laughter. "This class is easier than a study hall."

As the bell rang, Mr. Perkins flinched in his chair a little before falling back to sleep. The three of them laughed together and the rest of the class broke out into their own discussions. Some of the students brought their desks closer together, took out cards, or just sat there. 

Jude turned her desk slightly to make it easier to face Terri and Marco. They talked about this and that for the entire period. Jude tried to let Terri and Marco into her life as far as her work was involved. They wanted to know everything about recording and performing, and of course, they wanted to know what it was like to work with Tommy. But still, she didn't tell her about their real relationship, or tell them how she ended up at Degrassi, other than saying she moved. They were only informed of one aspect of her life, and that's all they were going to get at this point. Jude still kept a definite separation from her past life, and present. 


	14. Chapter 14

Jude continued her conversation with Terri and Marco all the way through the period and out the classroom door. They compared their lives to hers, talking about almost everything and nothing, all at the same time. The crowds in the hall buzzed, everyone heading towards the cafeteria. Only one person seemed to fight against the crowds, walking in the opposite direction. 

Approaching Jude, Terri, and Marco, Craig exhaled deeply. "Never try to make your way through hungry teenagers."

Marco patted Craig on the back with a lowered head and pretending to tear up. "What a brave soul…" he commented before laughing.

Both Terri and Jude laughed at the boys. The moved along the flow of the crowd as Terri asked, "Then why would you even come this way?"

"Yeah," Marco stated. "Your class is like, two doors down from the cafeteria."

With a shrug, Craig threw a glance in Jude's direction. He smiled and simply replied, "I thought I could use the challenge."

As they reached the lunch room, Jude and Marco slipped the lunch line and went directly to sit with Paige. Also at the table was Jimmy and Spinner.

"Hey Rock Star," Paige greeted with a smile on her face.

It was definitely a nickname Jude liked. She smiled back as she sat across from Paige and pulled her lunch out of her bag. "Hey," she cooed softly.

Paige picked her fork at her salad as she watched Jude pull out a crust-less sandwich, a bag of red grapes, a snack-sized back of chips, a bottle of water, and lastly, a pudding cup. She started to giggle as she looked up at Jude. "Holy sack lunch."

Jude flashed glances between her lunch and Paige. "What?" she asked without a clue.

"I haven't seen a lunch like that since I ate with Heather Sinclair in the fourth grade," Paige answered simply with a light chuckle.

Still a little confused, Jude asked, "Is that good or bad?"

This time, Jimmy and Marco joined in for the laughter. Spinner smiled at her and said, "Heather Sinclair is bad--"

Paige hit Spinner's arm and shook her head. "It's not bad. It's kinda cute, in a down-to-earth type way."

"Oh…" Jude said as she twisted the lid to her water. "My mom's way of keeping me her little girl forever."

"That's sweet," Terri judged as she sat between Jude and Marco.

Nodding in agreement, Jimmy chuckled. "My mom just throws me a five and tells me to watch the sodium."

Spinner turned to Jimmy and remarked, "At least you get a five!"

The rest of the group laughed at the boys as they argued a bit. Even though they were best friends, they always found something to fight over. And for some strange reason, most of the arguments were always over food.

Joining the table with a burger and fries, Craig sat down next to Jude. He glanced over at Spinner and Jimmy, then realized everyone was watching them. "Jimmy and Spin getting into it, the usual," he whispered to Jude.

She turned to him with a smile on her face. "It's like they're not even arguing about the same thing."

They both laughed, and Craig agreed. "I think it's pretty rare for them to be on the same subject," he stated.

Jimmy looked over at Craig and Jude with a slightly offended expression on his face. "Hey, my boy's got ADD. It's not his fault." His facial expression quickly turned to a smile as he draped his arm around Spinner's neck and laughed.

Everyone else joined the laughs except for Spinner, that look a little confused. Paige cuddled against him and said, "It's alright, Honey Bee," only causing more laughter at the table.

With that usual look of disgust on her face, Ashley brushed past the table with Ellie following behind. Jude's side of the table noticed first, causing the other to turn around and catch her evil glare. She sure had a way of killing the laughter and fun.

"Well isn't she a ray of sunshine," Marco stated with an uneasy feel in his voice.

Jude shrugged and glanced around the table. "I'm sorry if I made things bad with her."

"Don't be silly, Jude," Paige started. She place a gentle hand on Jude's to reassure her. "Ashley's an attention whore, to put in nicely."

Spinner leaned forward and looked over at Paige, trying to read her face. "Last time I called her a whore, you hit me."

The laughter continued as Paige gave Spinner an irritated look. They seemed like such an odd couple to Jude, but she couldn't deny that they were cute together. It seemed almost instantly after Spinner's comment and Paige's reaction, they were smiles and cuddles again. They were adorable.

A buzzing sound interrupted Jude's thoughts. The group glanced around, trying to find the source. Feeling it close to him, Craig looked down and then back up at Jude. He smiled and stated, "Uh, your bag is vibrating."

Jude quickly fished into her bag and pulled out her cell phone. Her phone was the hottest on the market, her latest bribe from her dad for forgiveness. He ever bought her a phone cover that made the flip phone look like a shiny, black guitar. She flipped it open as Tommy's face scrolled across the screen. She pressed down the button to reveal his text.

_Pick u up after school. U & me time._

Smiling at the message and the thought, Jude closed the phone and looked up at the rest of the table. Everyone was staring at her, wanting to know the details. It was just like Paige to be bold enough to ask, "What has Ms. Harrison beaming now?"


	15. Chapter 15

Jude glanced around at the curious faces. She smiled at them and replied with a simple, "It's just Tommy." 

"Tommy Q?" Paige bit her bottom lip slightly, thinking about him. "I guess I'd be like that too if I got a text from him."

"Hey!" Spinner remarked as he gave Paige a weird look.

The laughter at the table began again. It was nice to see that this group of friends could joke around about anything. They didn't get stuck in arguments or having that many problems with each other that wouldn't end in laughs. It reminded Jude of her own friends at one point…

_"Hey there, Rock Star," Jamie greeted as he knocked on Jude's bedroom door._

_From lying on her stomach, writing, Jude quickly sat up on her bed and shoved her notebook aside. She was surprised to see him there, especially the way they ended things last time. Jude smiled at him and greeted, "Hey."_

_Jamie looked around the room, trying to get a feel for Jude's new home. All he could really see was a stack of boxes lacing the perimeter of the room. "I like what you've done with the place," he remarked to loosen the tension that made up the rest of the room._

_Jude smiled, feeling that things weren't so bad between them. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"_

_Clearing his throat, Jamie went into her room and sat next to her on her bed. He linked his hands together and rested his forearms on his knees. "I want to be your friend, Jude." He hesitated to continue, but looked her dead in the eye with tears forming. "You hurt me so bad when you ended things. I hated that I lost my girlfriend… But when you left, I felt like a part of my died… You're my everything, Jude. I hated myself for letting you go. Girlfriend or best friend, or just a friend… I couldn't live without you."_

_With a smile on her face, Jude wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I love you, Jamie." She squeezed him tight, never wanting to let go._

Bringing Jude back to reality, the lunch bell rang. Students rose to the sound and quickly started to return to class. It was funny to see how so many reacted instantly to the sound heard in that building.

All together now, the group started into the leadership room. It was like every other classroom, but twice the size, and half the students. It seemed like it was mostly the new friends Jude made and a few extra people.

"Hey there!" a petite woman greeted Jude.

"Hi," Jude responded.

Paige stopped with Jude and the woman while the others took seats in the room. "Ms. Vincent, this is Jude Harrison. Jude, this is Ms. Vincent."

"Welcome!" Ms. Vincent excitedly stated to Jude.

Jude smiled, liking the teacher already. "Thanks," she remarked as she went with Paige to sit.

Glancing around the room, Jude looked at all the random posters that seemed student-made. There were a lot of inspiring quotes and encouraging images decorating the room. It was nice to see the school was so involved with the students.

"Were you in your leadership class in your other school?" Marco questioned, trying to make conversation with Jude as the others talked.

Jude shook her head and realized Craig was in on the conversation as well. "I don't think we even had a leadership class… What's leadership class?"

A smile broke on Marco's face. He thought it was endearing that she was so sheltered from their Degrassi lives. It was always nice to have fresh meat around. "It's just… Leadership." He smiled and shrugged. "We do a lot of stuff to get our classmates involved in school activities. We like to put on little shows and events to get Degrassi united and having fun."

Taking in the information, Jude nodded her head. She smiled and replied, "That sounds great. We definitely should've had one of those classes."

"It's fun," Marco added. "It's a great last period of the day too."

Marco stood and met with Terri and Ms. Vincent across the room. They talked for a while and then approached the front of the class.

"So, you guys know we're getting ready for the talent show in two weeks," Terri announced. "We're doing okay with the ticket sales, but we know we could do better. Just keep on selling the tickets outside of class, and today we're just working on the set and decorations."

Everyone went back to talking as they grabbed decorations or set pieces to work on. Jude helped Paige with a banner on the floor, painting in the block letters.

"I don't believe you, you know," Paige remarked. She stayed focused on painting in the letters, but glanced up at Jude subtly a few times.

Jude got a little nervous. She had no idea what Paige was talking about and felt uneasy. "What do you mean?" Jude asked as she got a little more paint on her brush.

Paige tried her hardest to keep her smile from getting too bright. She was trying to earn Jude's trust and let her know that Jude could talk to her. Paige wanted to be her friend, but she also wanted details to satisfy her nosiness. "I don't believe you and Tommy Q are just friends or coworkers or whatever."


	16. Chapter 16

Jude stared at Paige with wide eyes. She had no idea what to tell her. She didn't exactly want to lie to Paige, but she also didn't want rumors to fly around the school. She cleared her throat and hesitated. "Well… We-we're complicated." 

Paige raised her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. "I might've not known you for very long, but I read people beyond well." Paige smiled devilishly. "I'm thinking that's Jude-speak for 'Tom Quincy's my oh-so-hot boyfriend'!" Paige stated quietly.

Jude couldn't help but blush. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she got figured out. Some people just tend to take the news worse than others…

_"I can't believe Darius bought out Georgia!" Jude exclaimed as she stepped out of Tommy's Viper and started towards the entrance of G Major. Jude scoffed at the thought. "Two months on tour and we come back to everything changed!"_

_Tommy laughed as he grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. "Some things changed for the better," he stated as she smiled down to her._

_Jude smiled and nodded in agreement. She clung to his arm and cuddled close to him, leaving her head back for a kiss. "For the best," she replied softly after leaving his lips._

_Opening the door for Jude, they entered G Major with a touch of shock. The entire building had been completely remodeled. There was a giant tank filled with ugly fishes in the middle of the entrance, white furniture that stood out against the blue painted walls and randomly place mirrors, and a few new faces among the busy bodies._

_"Oh fritter…" Jude murmured under her breath._

_Quickly coming towards her was Darius with open arms. He smiled devilishly and stated, "There's my rockstar."_

_Hesitantly, Jude stared at him and replied, "Hey… You've definitely made this place… Your own."_

_Darius nodded with a smile. "Conquering the best of all worlds…" He stood for a moment and realized the hold Tommy had on Jude. His smiled quickly disappeared from his face. He glared at Tommy and Jude, then flashed glances down to their conjoined hands and their faces. Darius shook his head in disapproval. "This is not happening if I have any say in this."_

_"You don't have any say in this." Tommy's eyes stared back into Darius' with much frustration. "We're together now and you can't stop that."_

_The smile returned to his face as Darius chuckled. "It wasn't an option, T." Darius exhaled sharply and looked at the two with complete seriousness in his eyes. He brushed past Jude and took a step closer to Tommy, getting in his face. "She's just a kid, man. The press is gonna have a blast with your cradle robbing ass-- again-- and we are not having G Major go down that way."_

_Tommy took a deep breath and understood his reasoning. Tommy himself had thought about their bad reputations from the media time and time again. He didn't worry so much of himself, but more about Jude. He didn't want to put her through the hassle. Slowly, he released her hand with regretful eyes. "We can keep it quiet and lay low… But I won't stop loving her."_

_Jude stood watching. It wasn't exactly what she wanted, but she'd do it for Tommy. She'd take him anyway she could have him, even if that meant in secret. To show she approved and was not offended, Jude sweetly smiled back to Tommy._

_With a huff, Darius started to walk away. "Déjà vu… Didn't you say that to my sister?" he asked bitterly. He breathed deeply as he made his way off to what used to be a third conference room._

_Jude and Tommy watched him walk away, both feeling slightly defeated. To their disbelief, there stood Portia in the new wardrobe area. She looked back at Jude and Tommy, giving them a civil head nod of recognition. They both smiled back, but Jude was uneasy. She flashed glances between all the flustered faces in the new G Major._

Paige stared at Jude's blank face for a long while. Letting her impatience get the best of her, Paige blurted out quietly, "So am I right?"

Jude bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath. She found herself smiling and staring into Paige's excited eyes. "You're right," Jude admitted.

"Right about what?" Terri questioned as she joined them along with Craig.

Watching them sit down next to the banner, Jude hesitated to speak. She really hated to lie to people, but it wasn't exactly public information for a reason.

Feeling Jude's nervousness, Paige quickly answered, "That the banner's missing something… It needs to be more colorful!" Paige pressed her lips together in somewhat of a smile as she looked at the others. She turned to Jude and smiled a tad brighter.

Jude smiled back and nodded slightly, thanking Paige for saving her.


	17. Chapter 17

Craig shrugged slightly as he tilted his head to look at the banner. "I think it looks great."

Spinner made his way into a chair behind Paige and sat down. He looked over her shoulder and judged the banner as well. "I think that Downtown Sasquatch is looking a little small…"

Adjusting the banner a little on the floor, Jude squinted at the name. She looked up at Spinner, then back at the banner before standing up for a better view. "It's the same size as the rest of the names..?"

"Exactly!" Spinner said anxiously. 

Giving him a strange look, Jude shrugged her shoulders. "Then what's wrong with it..?"

Holding his hands out like he was outraged, Spinner answered, "Because Downtown Sasquatch IS the show! I mean, they're four super hot guys that basically run the school and their names should be the biggest!"

A smile grew on Craig's face. He blushed slightly and looked down at the floor, shaking his head. "Right, Spin. The 'pimps' of Degrassi."

Jude smiled as well and let out a light chuckle. "I get it now. That's your guys' band, right?"

Almost immediately, Spinner gave Craig a shocked look. He cocked his head with a look of disbelief. "You didn't tell her about the band?"

Craig looked up at Spinner with an even more intense look of embarrassment. He stared hard into Spinner's eyes, almost as if he was trying to signal him something from a mere look. "No… I mean, Jude probably doesn't want to hear about--"

"Of course she does!" Spinner answered stiffly back to Craig while standing. He made his way around the banner and to Jude, draping his arm over her shoulders. "Downtown Sasquatch is one of the hottest bands around, Jude. We've got Craig on lead vocals and guitar, Jimmy on guitar, Marco on bass, and we can't forget me on drums. We're exactly what the music industry wants-- No. We're what they need--"

"Lay off, Spin," Craig interjected. His embarrassment had passed and he had moved on to a bit of irritation. He looked at Jude with apologetic eyes, then back up at Spinner with a touch of fury. "She doesn't need to be hit up but some garage band," Craig stated.

She didn't know what exactly it was, but Jude could hear the discouragement in Craig's voice. She hadn't heard a tone like that in him all day, and it wasn't pleasant. Throughout the day, he seemed like the person that was always trying to make things brighter. He seemed like a person that didn't get down much and she felt a little responsible for triggering that in him now.

Jude smiled faintly at Craig. "I wouldn't mind listening to you guys," Jude stated. And as she watched Craig's face light up with the same joy she saw that morning, she added, "I could probably even swing you guys some time with Tom Quincy."

Standing up and slipping in between Jude and Spinner, Paige had a wide grin on her face. "And of course, I'll have to be there for moral support." She winked at Jude, reassuring the secret was safe as well as hinting her own personal need to meet Tommy.

Spinner glanced between Paige and Jude, having a strange feeling about something. "Tom Quincy… Isn't he that Boyz Attack guy..?"

Jude sighed and the smile dropped from her face. It got tiring, defending Tommy's genius. And even though the argument got old, she knew he was completely worth it. "He is, but he's different now. He's one of the best producer's around--"

"You are so not coming!" Spinner cut off Jude to speak to Paige. He glared at her slightly and added, "You just want to come to drool over that Justin Timberlake wannabe."

Instantly, Paige rolled her eyes and held Spinner's hand. "Yes, he is amazingly gorgeous… But I have this thing for drummers." She smiled sweetly, hoping that her subtle words would be understood by him.

It took Spinner a moment, but he understood. He smiled at Paige and leaned forward for a short peck on the lips. "What if I wore a bandana? The best of both worlds?"

The others laughed quietly, enjoying the most recent Paige and Spinner moment. Marco was the only one brave enough to interrupt as he strolled over and patted Spinner softly on the shoulder. "Please don't."

The laughter doubled. It was one thing to remember the days of Lil' Tommy Q and his white suit, bandana wearing ways. It was a whole other to imagine new friends in the boy band mold. It most definitely would've continued if the school bell didn't ring loudly, surprising most of them. 


	18. Chapter 18

Everyone started to clean up their projects around the room. It only took them a few minutes, considering the faster they finished that, they could leave the school for the day. They grabbed their backpacks and started out into the hall, meeting the rest of the group from homeroom. They reached the front steps of the school and they stopped at the top to chat some more.

With the random chitchat taking place, Jude smiled over to Craig. "So you think your band would want to meet me at G Major sometime?"

Craig thought it over, making subtle facial expression. "Well, I guess we could. I don't know about-- Of course we want to!" He chuckled lightly, thinking about what idiot wouldn't say yes to that offer. He continued, "This is really great, Jude. Thank you."

She shrugged slightly and stated, "No problem. It's the least I can do for you guys making school not suck." She smiled up at him, letting him know that she meant every word, and maybe even a little more.

Smiling back, Craig felt something between them. He didn't know what it was, but he could feel something more than just her words. They described more than they're day together. Craig tried to cover up his nervousness and remarked, "It was my pleasure, Ms. Harrison." He took a deep breath, staring into her eyes for a moment. "Uh, ju-just let me know when is good for you."

"Tomorrow," Jude answered with a slight nod. "Tomorrow's good."

Down in the streets, a loud car engine sounded. A few heads turned, including Jude's as she recognized the noise. She smiled brightly as she saw Tommy get out of the car and wait for her at the bottom of the stairs. She turned to the rest of the gang and raised her hand to wave. "I'll see you guys tomorrow! And Downtown Sasquatch is on for tomorrow afternoon!"

The others said their goodbyes to Jude as she cheerfully jogged down the stairs. She knew she had to act quick, but she was still a little too slow. By the time she reached the Viper, there was a throng of girls surrounding Tommy. Many of them were screaming, others at a loss for words. Then there were the others that were just plain molesting him against his car. It was something that'd happen pretty often when it came to places teenage girls would be found, and Jude knew how to handle it. She'd just stand aside for a little while as Tommy did his best to please his fans with autographs. Every now and then, Tommy would throw Jude a look that screamed, "save me!" but every good artist knows how to treat their fans.

The crowd still horrendous, never really seeming to get smaller, Jude's new friends joined her again. Paige smirked while flashing glances between Jude and the masses. She turned back to Spinner and said, "I'm not the only one that finds the man hot." And she couldn't help but give Jude the additional glance after that statement.

Jude giggled lightly and blushed. She dropped her head down, but then looked back up to add in, "You should try going to the mall with this guy." Jude shook her head and pressed her lips together. "It's not a pretty sight."

Spinner was amazed by the way the girls fixed themselves onto Tommy. It was like something he had never seen before, and you could tell all that, just by looking at his face. He took a few steps closer and yelled, "Downtown Sasquatch will be at the talent show, ladies! Save some of your energy for then!"

Most of the girls continued screaming and mauling Tommy. A few of the girls turned their attention back to Spinner, just to snicker at him. Even Paige huffed at his comment before slapping him on the arm and glaring.

She crossed her arms over her chest and asked, "Why do you need them to save their energy, Spin..?"

Sheepishly, Spinner hesitated to answer. He looked at the rest of the guys behind him and pulled Jimmy next to his side. "Jimmy. He-he needs a girlfriend." Spinner smiled to distract Paige's anger as he continued, "He doesn't have an amazing girlfriend like I've been blessed to have."

Jimmy couldn't help but laugh lightly as he commented, "Nice save."

Jude simply stood behind the site, shaking her head. She crossed her arms over her chest as well, slightly bored from all the waiting she had done. All she really wanted to do after this long day was spend some quality time with Tommy. He always knew how to make things a little better, even if they weren't that bad to begin with. She took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair.

Craig could tell from her behavior that Jude had had enough of Degrassi for the day. He stood beside her, leaning back against the stair railing. "What? You mean this isn't fun for you?" he joked.

Jude instantly shook her head. "I just wanna go home…" She shrugged and continued, "But it's fine. He's always good to his fans."

Nodding in understanding, Craig questioned, "So you have to deal with this a lot?"

"Not all that much, but there are definitely times that the mobs get a little crazy," Jude answer after a moment of thought.

Craig nodded again, looking in Tommy's direction. The crowd has started to decrease, but there was still enough to keep Tommy occupied. Craig glanced over at Jude, still wondering what her life is like. "So then, you spend a lot of time with Tommy..?"

Inhaling deeply, Jude looked away from Tommy and met Craig's eyes. Silence hit the two for a moment, Jude not really sure of how to answer. She hesitated, but finally stated, "He's my producer… So, yeah."

"You ready to go, Jude?" Tommy questioned as he joined Craig and Jude. He looked Craig over for a minute before he turned his attention back to Jude. He had sped up those last few autographs, but he still gave the fans what they asked for. Tommy wanted to get out of there with Jude, just as bad as she wanted to a few minutes earlier. 


	19. Chapter 19

Jude's eyes rolled between Craig and Tommy. For some strange reason, she felt a strong tug of tension between the three of them. Her glances finally stopped at Tommy as she replied softly, "Yeah. Let's go..."

Both of them started to the Viper with a feeling of uneasiness. Tommy made his way to the passenger's side and opened the door while Jude took one last look back towards Craig. She continued on to take her seat and smiled up at Tommy, thanking him for the polite gesture. He then took off to get into the car himself, also giving Craig a look, but a not so friendly one.

Tommy got into the Viper and cleared his throat. "Looks like you had a good day," Tommy stated as he roughly stuck the key in the ignition and started the car. He avoided her eyes as he signaled and started out into the street.

But Jude kept her eyes on him and his sudden strange behavior. She took a minute to think about his words and his attitude, then a look of disgust developed on her face. "What? Are you jealous?"

Almost instantly, Tommy began shaking his head. "No!" he answered. Tommy sped down to the stop sign and then made a left turn before glancing over his shoulder at Jude. He subtly added, "Is there a reason I should be jealous..?"

Scoffing, Jude replied, "No." She turned away from him, looking out of the window. She hated that their much anticipated time together had to be him questioning her like this. It wasn't what she wanted nor expected.

"So you didn't have a good day..?" Tommy asked, trying to break the silence.

Jude shook her head and turned to look at the road straight ahead. "I didn't say that." She glanced over her shoulder at Tommy a few times, trying to read the expression on his face. "I actually had a really good day. I made some friends."

"Like that guy?" Tommy quickly chirped.

Pressing her lips together, Jude continued to shake her head and look away from Tommy. "The guy that you're not jealous of..?"

Tommy shrugged slightly as he pulled up to a red light. He exhaled deeply and remarked, "Jude, I'm not jealous of some sixteen-year-old boy."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Jude nodded in understanding. "Especially when it's just over some sixteen-year-old girl, right?" she bit back. Jude stared at him for a moment, knowing that she had made her point by the look on his face. But at that moment, she didn't really care if she struck a nerve or not, she was just plain angry. She turned away from him and saw the light had changed. "Green means go," she added coldly.

Shifting the gears, Tommy made his way through the intersection and down the street to Jude's neighborhood. He sighed and stated, "You know I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what did you mean it like, Quincy?" Jude questioned with a touch of hurt.

Tommy pulled into Jude's driveway and parked the Viper. He turned his attention to her and smiled faintly. "Just... I don't get jealous. I'm not that type of person."

Jude chuckled slightly with a look of disbelief on her face. "You? You don't get jealous?" She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Remember Shay? I'm pretty sure there were definite signs of jealousy there."

"I wasn't really jealous of him..." Tommy commented shyly. "I just saw a lot of my past in him... The bad part of my past."

Nodding, Jude unlocked her seatbelt. She finally glanced back up at Tommy and met his eyes. "So none of that had to do with me?"

Tommy shook his head in disageement and shrugged. "I wasn't jealous of him, and I'm not jealous of the new kid."

"Not to sound conceded, but you should've just answered yes," Jude stated simply. She opened her door and slid out of the car with her bookbag in hand. She closed the door with a loud thud and leaned into the window to get a few more words in with Tommy. "I know sometimes you gotta keep your 'rep' in check... And you gotta keep your pride and self dignity or whatever... But that doesn't mean you should put your girlfriend down in the process."

Jude shook her head and snickered at Tommy with a little disgust before standing upright and stomping back into her house. She slammed the door behind her and let out a loud huff of exhaustion. She leaned back against the front door and slowly slid down it, landing her bottom hard on the floor. "Guys..." she muttered bitterly. 


	20. Chapter 20

Tommy quickly hopped out of his car and approached the front steps to Jude's new house. He had no idea that their conversation would have that affect on Jude. He never thought that she would be so insecure to doubt his feelings for her. And if he had to admit that he might have acted jealously, he would. Truthfully, he'd do anything for her. Tommy took a deep breath before knocking on the front door. 

"I'll get it, Mom!" a familiar voice called out in the new Harrison home.

Jude took short glances between the door behind her and the direction where the voice was coming from. She finally caught a glance of long, straight, blonde hair and her own sister's face. She smiled up to her. "Sadie! What are you doing here?" she questioned.

Sadie smiled back and picked her sister up off of the floor for a hug. "Well, I came to see how your first day at school was," she answered before releasing her sister. She took a good look at her, and then continued, "But at the moment, I'm right here to answer the door." Sadie took a few steps back and went around Jude to the door. Swinging open the heavy door, Sadie was face to face with Tommy. She swallowed hard and turned around, backing away from him.

Like a dear in headlights, Tommy dropped his hands into his jacket pockets. He stared at the two, not knowing what to say or do. He wasn't exactly in the best terms with Jude at the moment, and anything with Sadie was tricky. "Hey…" he muttered.

With a nervous sigh, Jude tucked her hair behind her ear. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to avoid how odd the very minute was. It reminded her of another time when the tension was just as thick…

_"Do you really think this is such a good idea?" Tommy questioned nervously as he approached the entrance of a quaint restaurant._

_Jude simply smiled at him before giving him a soft peck on the cheek. "It'll be fine, Tommy. You're just nervous." Breaking away from him, she ran her hand down his chest and adjusted his tie slightly. "And for that matter, you have nothing to be nervous about."_

_"I'm not nervous," Tommy quickly bit back. He passed a hand through his hair as he exhaled deeply. He peered into the glass windows of the restaurant, spotting Stuart and Yvette in the back. "Jude, this is the first time I've actually spent time with your dad since we've started dating…"_

_Understanding, Jude nodded slowly. She then remarked, "But this isn't the first time you've hung out with my dad. And I'm pretty sure he likes you."_

_Tommy shrugged and stated, "But then I was only a producer, not a boyfriend."_

_Jude rolled her eyes and shook her head. "And you're not nervous…" she reminded him in a whisper._

_She started into the restaurant and noticed Tommy lagging behind. She hooked her arm in his and tugged at him a bit to catch up. She nearly dragged him through the entire restaurant before they reached her dad and Yvette. Neither couple seemed too comfortable around each other, but there was no hostility to each other either. Everything went quite smoothly for most of dinner, but dessert never tasted more bitter._

_Stuart looked up and across the room with a touch of shock. He raised his hand over his head and started waving towards someone with much enthusiasm. Both Jude and Tommy turned around to see Sadie approaching the table, her arm linked with another man's._

_Sadie stopped and looked at Jude and Tommy, the smiling dropping from her face. "Oh… We didn't mean to interrupt your guy's double date…" She swallowed the words, trying to fight back the tears the developed in her eyes. Sadie thought she was over Tommy, especially with a new guy on her arm, but it was still hard to take the truth._

_"No," Jude said calmly. "You're not interrupting, Sadie." She tried to smile at her sister, hoping that it would make this awkward situation better._

_Sniffling a little, Sadie shook her head. "No, it's alright." She looked back up with teary eyes and pressed her lips together. "Nathan and I came to have a good time, so I think we'll just go," she stated with a nasty undertone. She turned away and released Nathan's arm, creating a little distance._

_They only took a few steps before Stuart called out, "Sadie!"_

_Sadie stopped in her tracks. She turned back to her father and said, "I'll see you guys at home later…" Slowly but surely, her eyes met back with Tommy's. "And I hope I never see you again."_

_Turning back around, Sadie started towards the door, Nathan following behind her. It was hard for her to keep her pride intact when she lost Tommy to her sister. And not only did she lose him, but it didn't seem to matter to anyone what Sadie might be feeling because of that. Only at situations like this, did everyone remember he wasn't a just new boyfriend to Jude, but also an ex-boyfriend to Sadie._

Sadie snickered and glared at the two of them. She cleared her throat and stated, "I'll be in the kitchen…" before walking away.


	21. Chapter 21

"What's wrong?" Tommy asked with a furrowed brow. He stared at Sadie for a moment, confused about her behavior. It wasn't like her to be so cold, at least not now…

_Sadie opened her door and quickly tried to close it again. She had gotten one glance of Tom Quincy, and knew it was enough. The door was nearly slammed shut, but a forceful hand stopped the door from closing._

_Pushing his way into Stuart's house, Tommy tried to act as calmly as possible. "Sadie, please." He looked at Sadie timidly as he spoke. "Can we just talk?"_

_With a nasty scowl on her face, Sadie sarcastically replied, "I'm pretty sure we can talk. I just know for a fact that I don't want to talk to you." She watched him and simply let go of the door and crossed her arms over her chest._

_Tommy took a few more steps into the house, away from the door. He reached the hallway and turned around to face Sadie. He could see that she was in the exact same position he left her, so he pleaded, "Please, Sadie. Give me a chance."_

"_A chance to what?" Sadie hissed back. She turned her head slightly to face him, a look of complete disgust on her face. "If you're here to backstab another Harrison, forget about it. I'm not as weak as Jude is."_

_Nodding, Tommy slid his hands into his pockets. He stared at the ground for a moment before looking up at Sadie. He watched her, making sure she was done talking before he started, "That's not why I'm here. I came to apologize."_

"_For choosing my sister over me?" Sadie questioned with a raised eyebrow. She waited for a nod of agreement before she continued, "Like I said, I'm not as weak as Jude." _

_Shaking her head, and her expression suddenly turning into sadness, Sadie dropped her arms to her sides. She started towards the living room and had a seat on the couch. She didn't really care what else Tommy had to say. He could talk at her for hours or days for all she cared. She didn't want to have this same argument over and over again, and she didn't want to have to justify herself._

_Tommy followed into the living room. He looked down at Sadie as he took a deep breath. She was sitting on the couch, staring off into nowhere. He could see her hands were tense in her lap, and the look on her face was nothing more than heartbroken. "No Harrison is weak. Maybe some are stronger, but I know the Harrisons. They're tough."_

_Sadie sniffled as she turned her head away from Tommy's view. She couldn't stand how the guy could say something like that and pretend like everything was okay. He always had a way of making the negative into a positive._

_He took another deep breath, knowing why Sadie turned away. He sat down on the arm of the couch, on the opposite end from Sadie. "And even when they think they're being strong, they're just stubborn."_

"_Stubborn?" she repeated angrily. Sadie flashed her head back around to face Tommy. She knew that he was partially right, but there was something he'd never understand. "No, Tommy. It's just that when I get kicked to the curb, I'm not going to run back to the guy that did that to me. I'm not going to make nice with someone that would ever hurt me that way." She breathed deep, staring coldly into his eyes. "And that's the difference between me and Jude. You can break her heart and she'd still take you back."_

_Staring at her in a state of shock, Tommy couldn't believe his ears. "I-I didn't know that I hurt you that much, Sadie. I'm sorry," he remarked. He quickly moved himself from the arm of the couch to right next to Sadie. "I would never purposely do that to you. Never."_

_Sadie sniffled again. Staring into those big blue eyes and hearing his apology was too much. Maybe she was just being stubborn, but she already stated she wasn't like Jude that way. She wasn't going to go back on her word. "But you did do it, Tommy. You played with my feelings to get to my sister! And saying sorry doesn't make it hurt any less."_

_Tommy pressed his lips together and nodded. "I know," he replied softly. "I just don't want to lose you as a friend."_

"_We were never friends," Sadie stated bitterly as she shook her head._

_Shocked once again, Tommy stated, "That's not true." He stared hard at Sadie, trying to read what was running through her mind. "I picked you over Jude, Sadie. Do you have any idea how much I love her?"_

_Avoiding his eyes, Sadie stared straight ahead. It was hard enough to know they were in a relationship, but knowing he loved her was even worse. "You better have a point to this story, Tommy," she bit back._

"_I love Jude… But that doesn't mean I care about you any less, Sadie." Tommy swung around to sit on the coffee table, right in front of Sadie. He needed her to know he was being sincere. He had to see her eyes and make sure she could see his. Tommy took her hand in his and cradled it gently as he continued, "Choosing you… It was never to hurt you, or to make any difference with Jude. Being with you was fun. I care about you, and honestly, you've become one of the best friends I've ever had… But still, I love Jude."_

_Sadie swallowed hard. Neither of them had talked since the whole incident, and that just made matters worse. They were both upset over different events, different factors. And now that everything was out in the open, none of it really mattered. She squeezed his hand back slightly and pressed her lips together. "It still hurts, Tommy… I think you should go."_

_Sniffling as she stood, Sadie made her way back to the door. She held it open and waited for Tommy to join her. She watched him approach her glumly, a look of defeat on his face. But as he passed, Sadie grabbed his hand and held it the same delicate way he held hers. "Give me some time," she whispered. Sadie looked up at him as he turned around and smiled faintly. "I don't want to lose you either."_

Sadie turned back to flash glances between Tommy and Jude. She crossed her arms over her chest and started, "There's obviously something going on between you guys…" She shrugged and continued, "I think it's my sisterly, and friendly, duty to let you guys talk."

Biting her bottom lip, Jude gave a look to Sadie. It wasn't that they didn't need to talk, it was more like Jude didn't really want to talk to Tommy at that moment. Sometimes, time was better to calm both of them down over another set of words that could possibly do more damage. She tried just signaling Sadie with her eyes, pleading for Sadie to change her last statement.

"You don't have to," Tommy insisted. Even though he wanted to talk to Jude, he could read that look on her face as well as Sadie could. They both knew that Jude was trying to get him to leave. "Jude and I can talk later."

Nodding with her lips pressed together, Sadie didn't have much else to say. She simply stood in the room awkwardly with Jude and Tommy. She looked down at the ground and turned her head slightly, trying to not to stare or show off her uncomfortable facial expressions.

Tommy turned to leave, the doorknob in his hand. He suddenly stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "Don't forget about tomorrow, Sadie," he stated. He gave one more look to Jude, but she was staring at her feet. He knew he screwed up, but there wasn't much that he could do. It was classic Jude to need space after a fight, and he would give that to her if it would make things better.

Sadie nodded and looked back up to him. "Of course," she replied. "See you later."

As Tommy closed the door behind him and left, Sadie turned back towards the kitchen. Jude instantly looked forwards and caught up with Sadie. "What's to—"

"Tomorrow is 'Deafening Demo' day," she stated before Jude even had the chance to ask. She knew what went through her sister's mind, and it entertained Sadie. "Once a month… Listening to demos for possible artists… You remember Tommy works at G Major, right?" she asked with a smart tone.

Jude rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I know…" She folded her arms over her chest as she followed Sadie into the kitchen and to the counter. "It's part of his job… But that doesn't explain why you're going…"

Sadie took a deep breath and rolled her eyes in the same bored manner that Jude had displayed. She stated coolly, "I'm going because I was invited."

Jude continued to stare at Sadie. Sometimes she really hated that her sister had become friends with her boyfriend. It was hard not to get jealous or feel threatened at times. But even through her anger, she had a great idea.


	22. Chapter 22

Jude walked into her homeroom class, running a little late. She didn't exactly expect to catch a ride with Tommy again, but she didn't know the walk to school would take so long either. She reached her seat just as the bell rang, and she smiled at the others sitting around talking.

"Perfect timing," Paige stated as she smiled to her new friend.

With a shrug, Jude ran her fingers through her hair. "Me being early like yesterday will be rare," she responded simply.

Jimmy chuckled and nodded towards the doorway. "Beats being late."

The others, including Jude, turned towards the doorway and saw Craig struggling to straighten himself out as he entered the room. He tried to make his entrance smooth, like he wasn't late or a slight mess. Craig kept his head down as he walked past Mr. Simpson, but he wasn't quite smooth enough.

"Nice try, Manning," Mr. Simpson stated as he put a gentle hand on Craig's shoulder. He shook his head with a slight look of disappointment on his face. "That's your second tardy."

Craig gripped his guitar case handle a little tighter and brought his guitar up to his chest. "I'm sorry. I was just working on this song. I was in like, this zen mode, and I didn't want to lose it—"

Mr. Simpson sighed with a slight nod. "Don't make it a habit, Craig." He gestured for Craig to take his seat, and returned to his own desk. He looked out at the rest of the class and back down to a sheet of paper. A moment later, he started the attendance count.

Making his way over to the rest of the gang, Craig set his guitar and backpack on the floor, sitting down in the seat next to Jude. "Hey, guys," he greeted quietly.

The others waved and acknowledged him, but continued on with their own conversations. The only person that didn't seem to be another of another discussion was Jude. She had been to busy listening to Craig and Mr. Simpson to get into anything else since she arrived. And more than that, she was anxious to talk to Craig about Downtown Sasquatch.

"So, how much do you love me?" Jude whispered to Craig in a joking manner.

For a moment, Craig's eyes bulged out of his skull. "I… Uh…" he hesitated. It took him a minute before he could look into Jude eyes, and only then did he realize she wasn't serious. He quickly wiped the dopey look off of his face and replied, "Depends. Why should I?"

A smirk grew on Jude's face as she leaned in to talk to him in her normal voice, but still quietly. "Today, Tommy and Kwest are listening to demos all day. It's something they do once a month to check out new artists and stuff. And I was thinking that I should slip them Downtown Sasquatch's demo."

"That'd be great," Craig whispered enthusiastically.

Instantly, Jude shook her head in disagreement. "That'd be ok… I mean, they call it 'Deafening Demo Day' because a lot of them are really bad which makes the good ones just as painful to listen to. What would be great is if you guys performed live for them…" she offered.

Craig tilted his head at Jude and stared into her eyes. He could hardly believe how amazing she was being to his band and him. "Are you serious?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Jude replied with ease. "We can head to G Major after school."

His smile grew brighter, listening to the eagerness in her voice as well. "And Tommy's cool with this? I mean, he'll actually listen to us?"

"Well…" Jude started with a skeptical expression. "I haven't exactly talked to him about it." She looked up at Craig bashfully and could tell he was disappointed. From every conversation they've had about music, she could tell he had such a great passion for it. And from what she could tell about his character, he'd also be good as it. Only knowing Craig for less than two days, Jude believed in him. "Tommy owes me though. So listening to you guys is going to be my favor from him," she explained.

Watching Jude, Craig could tell that she was putting a lot on him. He didn't exactly feel pressured by that, but he didn't want to let her down either. "Jude—" he started.

Jude interjected, reading that look of guilt on his face. "And once you guys blow his mind, he'll owe me more for finding you guys," she stated with total faith.

Craig leaned back in his chair with a look of contemplation on his face. In a matter of seconds, the look turned into a smile. He didn't want to disappoint Jude, but her encouragement meant a lot more than she'd know. "We're in," he stated to Jude.

A smile and a nod later, Jude and Craig had an agreement to have Downtown Sasquatch at G Major after school, ready to perform.


	23. Chapter 23

Shuffling her feet quickly to make her way down the stairs, Jude stared out at a few crowds of random faces and cars parked along the curb. All of the school busses were gone by now, and most of the students as well. Jude stayed a few minutes behind to go over transferred credits with her counselor. It was perfect timing as she saw the guys of Downtown Sasquatch approaching, some with their instruments as well.

"Hey," she called out with an anxious smile on her face.

Craig's wide eyes stared out in a trance before he realized someone was speaking to him. "Uh…" he started, still somewhat dazed. He caught a glimpse of that red hair and bright smile, then greeted, "Hey," trying to act like his mind wasn't floating off.

Jude continued smiling to herself, knowing what was going through Craig's head. She noticed the others hadn't joined the two of them, but she put no more thought to it. Jude simply figured it'd give them another chance to chat. "Nervous?" she asked him in a quiet and curious tone.

"No," Craig replied quickly and coolly. He tried his best to avoid eye contact, but when that fell through, he added, "Maybe." And then with a defeated manner, he stated, "Yeah." It was merely seconds before he got his anxiousness back, wearing his emotions on his sleeve as he commented, "This is like, crazy huge."

Nodding, Jude knew all the feelings he was going through. It wasn't long ago that she was standing backstage, her hands shaking, waiting to hit that stage and show people whether she was an artist or an utter failure. And as hard as it was for her to believe in herself, she knew that she had people believing in her, and sometimes that's just as good. "You guys will be great," she remarked reassuringly. "No worries," she added, trying to throw all of Craig's stress over her shoulder.

For a moment, Craig's nerves stopped rambling in his head and jumping in his chest. He took that moment to stare into Jude's eyes, and he knew she understood. If there was one feeling he was ever sure of, it was being misunderstood, but it was never like that with her. "Thanks," he said, swallowing hard and breaking the silence. "For everything."

Her heart skipping a beat, Jude felt a sudden spark between them. She didn't know what it was, or what he meant by "everything" but she didn't hate the feeling. She remembered it faintly, but she didn't know where or who from. All she could really think about was that look on Craig's face, and her want to have his back in these situations.

Spinner ran over to the two, his drumsticks in hand. He looked at them curiously at first, but didn't give it a second thought. "Downtown Sasquatch is hitting it big!" he screamed, giving Jude a small, yet rough, hug. He had lifted her off of the ground, but gently put her back in place. He turned to give Craig a hug as well, and yelled, "Whoo!"

Craig quickly covered himself with one arm, and held his other out to push Spinner away. Even attempting to protect himself, Craig was still doused with some Spinner loving. And once he was on, it seemed like he couldn't get him off soon enough.

Standing off to the side, Marco threw his hands up into the air. "Shut up, Spin!" he stated eagerly. As he saw the others look at him strangely for ruining the joyous atmosphere, he explained, "It's making me nervous…"

"Sorry," Spinner easily spit out. He still couldn't wipe the smile off of his face, but he wasn't jumping on anyone or screaming anymore. "I'm just excited," he said, also in his own defense.

Jimmy simply smiled up into the air, obviously lost in a thought. He stated in a blissful manner, "We're gonna be swimming in the groupies in no time…"

"Heck yes!" Spinner exclaimed, reaching his hand out to share a high-five with Jimmy. Noticing the evil glare coming out of his girlfriend from behind a car, he pulled his hand back quickly. "No!" he yelled, wiping the high-five off on his jeans, and taking a step closer to Paige. He put his arm around her shoulders and said, "I'm a one-groupie kind of guy."

Making a disgusted look on her face, Paige remarked, "Eww! I'm so not a groupie." She took a moment to glare up at Spinner once again, but still kept his arm wrapped around her. "But, the van is loaded, so I'm your guys' ride."

Spinner removed his own arm from Paige's shoulders as he tossed it up into the air. "Shotgun!" he roared in a hyperactive manner.

Paige rolled her eyes, shaking her head and putting a gentle hand on Spin's chest. "Sorry, sweetie," she said in a calm voice. "Jude's riding up front with me."

Furrowing his brow, Spinner looked down at Paige. "But I called it," Spinner stated, not understanding why he didn't get the seat.

"I'm not going to leave Jude to cram in the back with guy fest," Paige stated, plain and simple. It wasn't just that she didn't think it was fair for Jude to have to be squished in with all those guys and instruments, but she also wanted to talk a little more of Jude's life.

Spinner turned his attention away from Paige, not really listening to her reasoning. He looked at the rest of the guys who were staring to climb into the van. "Hey! Didn't anyone else here me call it?" he questioned, hoping that there'd be some justification of his precious seat.

"Give it up, dude," Jimmy stated easily as he climbed into the back of the van.

Hanging his head low, Spinner held his drumsticks low to his side. His jumpiness was finally brought down, and over a seat in the ten-minute car ride, no less. Jude, Craig, and Paige were left giggling at Spinner glumly climbed into the back as well, followed by Marco.

"We better get moving," Jude stated after glancing down at her watch. "They're probably popping demos into the microwave by now… They like to watch the bad ones melt."

The three of them started to their seats, but Craig stopped suddenly, cutting off Jude. "What?" he exclaimed with all her nerves back. He could only imagine performing for Tom Quincy, and Tommy shove him into a microwave for sucking.

Jude smiled up at him and continued to her seat. She reached to open her door, but Craig got to it first, opening it and letting her get in. "No worries, remember?" Jude stated softly, reminding him that things would be alright.

Craig nodded as he muttered, "No worries…" and closed the door. He took a few steps to his spot, taking the seat directly behind Jude. He hesitated to close the door, knowing that once he was in there, they'd be on their way to his fate.


	24. Chapter 24

"Boo!" Kwest exclaimed, tossing a handful of popcorn at the stereo speakers. He threw his head back in an exhausted manner, spinning a touch in his chair.

The stereo had been playing one demo after another, torturing anyone that would listen. And those lucky listeners felt the need to kill the messenger, even if it was an inanimate object. Such horrible noise didn't usually sound from Studio B, but it was that time of the month, and a fortunate few needed to do their jobs.

Tommy rubbed his forehead with his hand, staring down at the table beneath him. "I think my ears are officially bleeding," he announced in an irritated voice.

Letting her head drop, Sadie's forehead hit the tabletop. She let it bounce before she smacked it once more, hoping the pain to her head would take away from the agony to her ears. She quickly looked up, the two guys sitting one to each of her sides. "Will someone please press the stop button?" she exclaimed, wondering why the song all three of them had complained about was still playing.

Both Kwest and Tommy smiled to each other with light chuckles. They knew that Sadie had a way of making demo listening interesting, but they also knew that it was entertaining to make her whine. It was fun to push her buttons and see her squirm, at least when they could control the circumstances.

"Next," Tommy stated, still with a grin on his face. He lifted the remote from the table and pointed it at the stereo.

Waiting for the music to play, they all looked at each other with fright. They could only imagine the next piece of anguish they'd have to endure. Just the anticipation of what strange mix of clatter could form was excruciating enough.

With a disgusted look on her face, Sadie let out a "Ewww!"

Tommy tilted his head at the speakers, trying to think about the music at a deeper level. "This isn't that bad," he said hesitantly. A few seconds later, he glanced back up to see some of the dirtiest looks from both Sadie and Kwest. "It's original," he defended.

Kwest shook his head repeatedly at his friend. He snickered and retorted, "Like how wearing crap on your head as a hat is original!" Kwest shook his head once more and exhaled loudly. He reached over Sadie and grabbed the remote away from Tommy. "Next."

Loud drums and a deep bass began to play in a jumbled melody. The three of them took the song into consideration and taking turns looking at the CD cover it came from. Occasionally, they would stare at the stereo, almost as if looking at it would help understand the music.

"Slit my wrists if I hear another wannabe emo song," Sadie said dryly with a wide-eyed look on her face.

Quickly turning to her attention, Tommy gave Sadie a strange look. They all criticized about the music, but no one, especially Sadie, was ever that negative. Tommy flashed glances between Sadie and Kwest, thinking that maybe they had enough of the demos by now. "They aren't that horrible," he remarked, trying to see if Sadie was done for the day.

Sadie looked up at Tommy and noticed the way he was watching her. A smile broke on her face as she rolled her eyes and shook her head. She knew that look of concern of his, and thought it was funny. "That's the name of the band, genius," she explained, tossing the CD case back to him.

Blushing slightly, Tommy was embarrassed. He had a tendency for taking things too far, and maybe even caring a little too much. It was just another prime example of why jumping to conclusions is bad for one's health. Trying to save himself from showing anymore foolishness, Tommy cleared his throat and yanked the remote back from Kwest. He pointed it at the stereo once more and pulled out the demo, placing a new one in at the same time. Tommy took the demo they just sampled and placed it into the smallest pile on the table, the decent ones.

As the new song played, Kwest eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Now that one has me reaching for my pocket knife!" he exclaimed in a joking matter, referring to Tommy's misinterpretation. He chuckled at himself as he stared across to Tommy, making sure that he got the subtle jab.

Getting the joke, Tommy continued blushing. He tossed an angry glare towards Kwest, hoping that they could just drop that. But knowing his friend, he'd at least be made fun of for a few more days.

Sadie smirked to herself, but ignored looking at the guys. She knew they loved poking fun at one another, but she couldn't say anything bad to Tommy this time. It was nice to know that he still cared about her after everything they've been through, so she wasn't going to give him any wit. But still, her smile quickly dropped as she squinted at the stereo. "Do you guys hear a cow..?"

"Next!" the three of them hollered in unison.

Standing in the doorway, Jude and her new friends had watched and listened through those last few demos. The band was more than nervous now, being there and establishing how real all of it was.

"They-they're pretty harsh," Craig stated, his nerves completely jumbled.

Her arms folded across her chest, Jude was focused in on her sister and her boyfriend. She caught that concern, knowing his expression better than anyone else. Especially after the way things were left the previous day, it was particularly sketchy. "They're just joking around," Jude stated, trying to convince herself as well.

With a twinkle in his eye, Jimmy continued watching the panel of judges. Probably the least nervous member of the band, Jimmy questioned, "Does the blonde work here too?"

Jude quickly muttered, "No." Truthfully, Jude could care less about the blonde right now. All she knew was that all the boundaries that had been created over the summer were starting to fuzz together, and it wasn't in a good way. Turning back to Jimmy, Jude asked, "Why?"

Jimmy smirked and replied in a suggestive manner, "I wouldn't mind her producing…"

Cringing at the thought, Jude exclaimed, "Ewww! She's my sister."

Turning towards the commotion, the three of them saw Jude and the others gathered around the doorway.

Wondering where that last comment came from, Sadie rose from her seat and took a few steps towards them. "I'm guessing you're talking about me?" she inquired as she approached them.

"Oh yeah, Sades," Jude responded dryly. She rolled her eyes at her sister and smiled mockingly at her. "We all know the world revolves around you."

Kwest's face lit up as he watched the sisters inch closer to each other with a glimmer of feistiness in their eyes. He sat up slightly in his chair, watching them carefully and throwing popcorn into his mouth. "Catfight!" he announced excitedly to Tommy.

Tommy smiled as well, reaching himself a handful of popcorn. "Bring them pillows!" he suggested with a longing eye.

It only took the Harrison sisters a second to turn and glare at the two gentlemen. Their voices were quiet, but not quiet enough to be undetectable. The evil eye was just enough to scare the boys and stop their giggling.

"Shut up, Kwest!" Tommy quickly exclaimed, backing away from his friend, and trying to protect himself from any bad thoughts.

Sadie shook her head and rolled her eyes. She glared at the two of them a touch more before muttering, "Pigs."

Pretending to let it roll off of his shoulders, Kwest slouched back down in his seat and turned it to face the other direction. He then threw in towards Sadie, "Barbie."

The smirk returned to Tommy's face as he saw Sadie was shocked to hear fighting words. He looked down into his lap before standing and walking over to the crowd. "Princess," he stated in addition to the others.

Sadie shrugged it off with ease. She glanced over her shoulder and realized Tommy was near her. She turned her attention to him stating, "And you say that like it's a bad thing."

Paige had kept quiet the entire time they were there, but she couldn't handle it anymore. She looked over to Jude and could see that concerned look in her eye. She also saw the way everyone else was acting and couldn't get a firm idea of what was going on. "Isn't he yours?" she whispered into Jude's ear.

"I thought so," Jude exhaled in reply, still staring at the two.


	25. Chapter 25

Kwest turned back to the crowd, pulling his chair a tad closer to them. "So what's with the crown, Harrison?" he asked, reclining in his seat.

Jude smiled brightly, deciding to abuse her charm to be convincing. "It's a demo day," she stated simply, thinking that'd be enough to explain.

Sadie stared at her sister, waiting on more information. When she realized that was all Jude had to say, she commented, "And who said she wasn't a genius?"

"Shut up," Jude quickly bit back, realizing she's need to elaborate. She cleared her throat, giving herself some more time to pick her words out carefully. "I just thought you guys could use a break from the bad demos," she started, knowing that there'd be no argument for that.

Kwest's face lit up like a kid in a candy shop. "Oh, hell yes!" he exclaimed, rising to his feet. He bounced slightly and started dancing up against Sadie. "It's a party!"

With a light chuckle, Jude shook her head and looked away. She shyly glanced back up and made eye contact with Tommy. "I was thinking more you guys could listen to them," she suggested coolly, hoping that they'd take it into consideration. "Live," she added.

"Jude," Tommy called out with a shake of his head. He was tired, and the exhaustion could be heard in his voice. He gave Jude apologetic eyes before turning to her friends and starting, "I'm sorry you guys—"

Instantly, Jude started shaking her head. "You owe me, Quincy."

Tommy tilted his head as he looked at her, obviously exhausted. "Yeah," he started out in agreement. "But I can't just open the studio!"

"Since when?" Jude inquired, her arms folded across her chest.

Craig's face dropped, sighing sadly. "Hey, it's alright," he offered. He knew that Jude was fighting pretty hard for them to be able to perform, and the last thing he wanted was for him to let her down. Even more so, he didn't want Jude to suffer for trying so hard.

Continuing to shake his head, Tommy ignored Craig and continued speaking with Jude. "You didn't give me any notice, Harrison." He cocked his head at her slightly, emphasizing his point. "Plus, Georgia wants to find some new acts."

"The new act is right in front of you!" Jude exclaimed, paying no attention to all of Tommy's irritated signs. She had made a promise to her new friends, and she didn't want to break it. "Come on!" she pleaded, hoping that Tommy would finally give Jude her way.

Sadie could tell by the way that Jude was kicking and screaming that this wasn't going to be a forgettable subject. She knew her sister, and she knew that Jude wasn't going to give it a rest. Sadie finally interrupted and stated, "Just listen to them." She hoped that they could just get it over with, the arguments getting old. "What's one more song going to hurt?"

Kwest nodded, feeling where Sadie was coming from. Being Tommy's best friend, he witnessed his fair share of their disputes. Granted, they were one of the best couples when they weren't fighting, but they also had a tendency to put each other into through too much. "At least we know they don't have a cow," Kwest stated, trying to persuade Tommy into giving the band a listen and the quarrel a break.

"Fine," Tommy finally surrendered. If his two other judges were willing to listen, he wasn't going to struggle anymore. "Set up in there," he directed to the band, pointing off into the recording booth. He watched them scurry off, but a part of him wished that he could just start and stop them like all the other demos. "And hurry!" he hollered to them as they passed.

Spinner practically hopped into the recording booth, carrying as much of his drum set as possible in one trip. "Whoo!" he exclaimed as he passed the three of them. He walked further but stopped at the doorway to face them once more. "Squatch is gonna rocks your socks off!" he shouted before he left completely.

Tommy squinted slightly and looked at his friends. "Squatch?" he repeated, thinking about the name out loud.

"Oh gosh…" Sadie commented, with a loud sigh. She smiled faintly at Tommy, knowing that the two of them were thinking about how horrible that name was. Even the Slit Wrists band was looking a little better.

Paige glared at Sadie, already despising the girl. "It's Downtown Sasquatch," she corrected, defending her honey's band.

Sadie caught Paige's bitter tone and returned the evil glare. She replied sarcastically, "Much better..."


	26. Chapter 26

Tommy threw his head back in a tired manner and spun around in his swivel chair. When he reached a full circle and faced forwards toward the recording booth, he pressed down on the sound. "You guys almost ready in there?" he asked the guys of Downtown Sasquatch.

"Yeah!" Craig replied nervously as he tapped on his guitar strings, trying to mentally prepare himself. He plucked out a chord and realized he needed to tune better. He quickly added, "Just one more minute!"

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Tommy replied, "Sure." Tom Quincy was complicated when it came to the studio. He took everything seriously inside G Major. And when it came to new artists, he was always hardest on them. Even if they had a promising sound or whatever it took to make them successful, he always tried to test their limits. They needed to prove themselves in the this business, and it was just Tommy's way of showing the new kids that it wasn't going to be easy.

Jude knew exactly what Tommy was doing, especially since he had put her in this spot the first time they met. And even though he meant well, she still hated that it rattled the nerves of her new friends. "Cut them some slack, Tommy," she pleaded. Knowing that he probably wasn't going to let up, she added jokingly, "Not everyone is born a boyband heartthrob."

Sadie's jaw dropped slightly, amused by the obvious banter that was about to begin. Tommy and Jude would have their arguments from time to time, but most of them were more fun than serious. Leaning a bit over towards Kwest, Sadie raised her eyebrows and commented, "Better bring them pillows…"

Kwest's laughter busted out in the room. He got Sadie's reference to their earlier joke, and it was good to see that she had a similar sense of humor. It was just another reminder of why hey liked to have Sadie around on the horrible days of demo testing. But looking around the room, Kwest could see that not everyone else was as entertained, especially the couple that was ready to duel. "Sorry!" Kwest quickly let out, dropping his happy expression into a serious one. He leaned over to Sadie and hugged her with one arm as he added, "I love this girl!"

Glaring at his friends, Tommy shook his head. He focused in on a giddy Kwest and muttered, "Dude, shut it."

Paige watched the four of them, just waiting to get a word in. She wasn't liking Jude's sister too much, but she hadn't caused much harm yet. Finally hearing a moment of silence, and a perfect time to but in, Paige stepped forwards. "Uh…" she started out, not really sure what else to speak of at the moment. "Speaking of boybands, Mr. Quincy—"

With a furrowed brow, Tommy looked at the girl strangely for a moment. "Mister" and "Sir" always made him feel old, especially when it came from a teenager. And if that wasn't bad enough, he could hear Sadie and Kwest giggling at that as well. "Tommy," he both interjected and corrected.

"Tommy…" Paige cooed. Realizing that he just made their conversation a little more friendly, Paige squealed with delight. It wasn't long before she lost all her composure, and started to ramble as well. "I love Boyz Attack!" she remarked. She held out her hand for Tommy to shake and threw in, "I'm Paige Michalchuk."

Tommy nodded with a faint smile on his face. "Thanks," he said while shaking her hand. It was always fun for him to meet fans, but he hated being known at Lil' Tommy Q from Boyz Attack. That recognition did get old. "It's nice to meet you, Paige."

Squealing again, Paige exclaimed, "Likewise!" She shook Tommy's hand repeatedly, obviously star struck. She probably never would've let go, but Tommy pulled his own hand away. "You guys were like, beyond great," Paige continued like an overzealous teenybopper. "The songs and the dancing—"

"Oh, the dancing!" Kwest shouted out in an exhausted and disgusted manner. He had a pained look on his face as he elaborated, "TQ shaking his ass like there was no tomorrow!" Kwest then shook his head of the image, but couldn't see to get it all out. The next thing you know, Kwest was keeling over, and pretending to vomit all over the sound system.

Blushing slightly, Tommy shook his head at the ground with embarrassment. When he could finally make eye contact with the others in the room, he looked straight at Kwest with angry eyes and stated, "Thanks, man."

Jude laughed lightly. She knew that Tommy was touchy with his boyband days, and she didn't like to get too deep into making fun of him. Usually, she'd stand up for him instead of joining in the games, but people weren't exactly supposed to know that he's her boyfriend. Trying to subtly take the attention off of Tommy, Jude joked, "Hey, at least he wasn't just dancing to the music and lip syncing whenever a Boyz Attack song came on!" Jude let her eyes drift over towards Sadie, making it obvious who she was talking about.

Following Jude's lead, Kwest glanced over at Sadie as well. He took a deep breath and took his arm off of Sadie's shoulder and huddled it close to himself. In a quiet manner, Kwest kept his body to himself, creating space between him and the Harrison. "We can't hang out anymore," he stated calmly, avoiding her.

Sadie's jaw dropped, but still with a smile on her face. She knew all of them were joking, and now the teasing had been turned onto her. Sadie could take the heat as she replied, "Hey! I made those dance moves look good…"

Tommy chuckled to himself, still shaking his head. He cleared his throat and looked up, seeing Paige still standing directly in front of him. "No offense, Paige… But I can only handle one blonde teenybopper at a time, and she came first." Tommy turned slightly and threw a smile in Sadie's direction.

"Oh, shut up!" Sadie exclaimed, shooting him a dirty look. Her taste in music wasn't always cool in the G Major environment, but she is who she is and Sadie never cared otherwise.

"Hmm…" Paige started with a thoughtful look on her face. She slowly broke into a grin and flashed glances between Tommy and Sadie. "I didn't know you were 'handling' her."

Turning back towards Paige, Tommy took a step back. He tilted his head slightly while looking at her and muttered, "Excuse me?"

Paige shrugged her shoulders and mockingly stated, "Oh, no offense, hon."

Standing from her seat, Sadie took one step closer to Paige. She didn't know who this girl thought she was, but Sadie didn't like her. She might be able to say things like that somewhere else, but not in a place where Sadie came first. "Uh, 'hon', you can take that snooty attitude somewhere else. We were joking around." She took another step closer, almost as if no one else was in the room except for her and Paige. "And for you information, me and Tommy? Ewww. No."

Tommy's eyes went wide with Sadie's last statement. He remembered the days when the Harrison sisters were at each other's throats for him, and now he got a disgusted look on one of their faces. "Ewww what?" he inquired, confused, and maybe even little hurt by her words.

Seeing Tommy's obvious reaction to those words, Jude was hurt as well. She crossed her arms over her chest and glanced at Tommy with angry eyes. "What what?" she questioned as well.

Kwest simply sat back in his chair, waiting to see all hell break loose. "This is gonna get ugly," he commented, grabbing a handful of popcorn.

Paige was standing close enough to hear Kwest's words. And finding something to use in her own defense, she stated, "It already is with her here," and nodded towards Sadie.

Shaking her head, Sadie was ready for a smack down. "You did not just call me ugly," Sadie stated, clenching her fists. She hated this girl, and she hardly even knew her. All Sadie really knew was that Jude just made an even more annoying friend.

Still with a smile on her face, Paige laughed hollowly. "Uh, yeah. I think I did," she remarked with a smart-alecky tone. She raised her hand to Sadie's head and tapped on it slightly as she added, "Try and keep up."

"Oh crap…" Kwest's jaw dropped as he reached over for the popcorn and put the entire bowl into his lap. He knew Sadie, and he knew that this was going to be a war of the blondes.

Sadie put a fake smile on her face as well. She was good at pretending to be friendly, and she would do so if she had to. No more words had to be spoken, and she would pretend they were on good terms. Well, that was just so Paige would let her guard down, because a second later, Sadie was on top of Paige and pulling at her hair. Sadie had gotten one good slap in before both of them hit the ground, but that wasn't enough. She was called both stupid and ugly within a matter of seconds, and never would Sadie stand for either of those comments. And this coming from another girl that obviously just has an attitude problem, Sadie found it her responsibility to teach her a lesson. She didn't know what she did to deserve Paige lashing out at her, but she wasn't going to let her win.


	27. Chapter 27

"We're ready, Craig," Marco stated anxiously, huddled with the other guys in the recording booth.

The stood around in a close circle, both because the booth was small and because they wanted to look each other in the eye. With the deafening silence between them, you could nearly hear their heartbeats racing. Each one of them was nervous to play, but one more than the others.

Shaking his head, Craig ran his fingers along the strings of his guitar. "We're not…" he stated with a look of decisiveness on hi face.

Spinner fidgeted with his drumsticks and stood from behind his drum set. He raised an eyebrow to Craig, and with a confused smile on his face, he questioned, "We're not..?"

Craig continued to shake his head. He took a deep breath and stepped closer to the rest of the guys. He took a second to glance over his shoulder at the audience outside of the booth, but the glare was too much to notice who was staring back. He returned his attention to the band and started, "I was late for homeroom because I was writing that song, right?"

Understanding which direction Craig was heading before the rest of the guys, Jimmy let out, "Wait," as he shook his head disapprovingly. He took a moment before staring up at Craig with a look of disbelief. "You wanna play a song that we've never practiced together?" he questioned, trying to make it sound as stupid as the idea is. Jimmy continued to stare a Craig blankly, hoping that he'd understand it's a giant risk to perform a song that only Craig knows. But when he could see his friend had already decided he wanted to play the song, Jimmy bitterly stated, "We might as well just not play, man."

"No," Craig stated boldly, holding his hand out. He knew that Jimmy had a point, but he wanted to perform the song he wrote. He believed in that song, and just needed everyone else to agree. Craig thought for a moment about what Jimmy had said and quickly remarked, "You guys know the music, just not he words."

With the same nervous smile and curious expression, Spinner commented, "We only know like, one song."

Once more, Craig shook his head. "No," he repeated and sighed. Looking up in the air, Craig tried to think back on something that would make them feel more confident. "Remember when we were messing around at practice last week? That melody?" he questioned, hoping that they would follow along. Waiting for a few head nods, Craig found himself getting excited with a bit of hope. As soon as he saw them respond, he quickly added, "Play it in G, and just follow my lead. The tempo's slow, so take it easy."

Marco glanced around at the other guys, not sure what to say or do. He knew that Craig was usually the leader of the band, especially since the music probably meant the most to him. "If you say so…" Marco started skeptically, worry about all the possibilities. Hoping it'd make or break the deal, Marco questioned, "But you know we're taking a giant risk, right?"

Breathing deeply, Craig took a moment for himself to think. It was only a few seconds later that a smile appeared on his face like some sort of crazy mood shift. "We're not," he replied with much certainty. Looking around at the guys, he could tell that everyone had their doubts and everyone was nervous, but Craig wasn't so much anymore. He stated, "Even if we were, risks make things better sometimes." He started to nod his head, almost as if he found a beat in agreement. He was ready for a show. "The song's good, but we're even better."

Jimmy exhaled deeply, not wanting to fight any of their decisions anymore. He could only smile faintly as he remarked, "There's a sudden surge of confidence from our leader." He started to back away from the group, nothing left to say. Jimmy was ready to perform any song if Craig was so sure about it. Jimmy liked being apart of the band, but mostly he was just happy to hang out with his friends. The person that it would mean most to hit it big is Craig, and if he was so okay with risking it, Jimmy believed in him.

Craig could only smile as he continued to bob his head to the beat in his mind. He was excited to see he won the argument, even if it wasn't that big of a deal. All they did was decide on the song they wanted to perform, but it was a good feeling. Winning over his friends was like them trusting him, and that's exactly what he both needed and wanted. They were going to nail this audition.

Up at the soundboard, Tommy grabbed for Sadie, wrapping his arms around her waist. He used all his strength to pull her back, dragging her a few feet backwards as she kicked and screamed. Kwest scooped in from the other direction and yanked at Paige until the two girls were separate from each other. They continued to fight the air, just reaching for each other and still wanting to fight it out. For two girly girls, they were extremely feisty.

Still holding Sadie tightly against him and trying his best to hold her back, Tommy felt his arms starting to go weak. He couldn't believe that Sadie was wearing him out and still going on with so much energy. Hoping he could get her to calm down, Tommy called out, "Sadie!" And as she leaped forwards once more, Tommy jerked back with a giant force to keep her from making their troubles worse. "Cool it!" he yelled as he continued to gain control of the situation.

Sadie breathed deeply and blew her messy locks out of her face. She still struggled with Tommy, trying to get him to let go of her, but he was too strong. Sadie tried to regain her composure and catch her breath, but felt like she had to defend herself. Quickly, Sadie replied, "She was the one being a major bitc—"

Kicking her legs straight up in the air, and almost causing Kwest to lose his grip, Paige scremed back, "You're the one all over you sister's boyfr—"

"Jude!" Tommy shouted as he could feel Sadie ready to charge again. He tugged Sadie back with all his strength and turned both Sadie and himself around so she couldn't face Paige anymore. He caught a glance of Jude and demanded, "Get your friend, or whatever she is, out of my studio!"

Shocked that she had just been yelled at, Jude swallowed hard. All she could think about was that Sadie should be the one being scolded, and not anyone else. But knowing that fierce look in his eye and growl in his voice meant business, Jude stepped closer to Paige. She hooked onto her friends arm and started, "Paige, come on." She could see that Paige was still fighting against Kwest, so Jude simply stood in front of her, trying to calm Paige down. She thought the least she could do was to get Paige to leave on her own terms, and not drag her out of the studio. Thinking maybe she could bargain, Jude offered, "We can—"

"Now, Jude!" Tommy hollered once more, gripping Sadie tight. He didn't know where she was or what she was trying to do, but he knew that Paige and Jude hadn't left the room, and that Sadie was still roaring. Tommy let out a loud huff as he continued to move Sadie across the room, hoping that he could move her far enough away from Paige to get her to cool off.

He brought Sadie up to the soundboard and pinned her up against the corner. Tommy had trapped Sadie in such a small space that he was able to gain complete control and both of them silently stood while catching their breath. Turning his head slightly, Tommy watched Jude drag Paige out of the room by the arm. The next thing he knew, Kwest closed the door behind them and started straightening out his clothes. Tommy started to turn back to Sadie and let go of one her arms slowly freeing her from his grasp.

The first sign of movement beyond the glass that the band could make out was from Tommy and Sadie. All they could really make out was that Sadie and Tommy cuddling closely in the corner. Marco smirked, having an idea in his mind of what was going on. Trying to nod to the others to take a look, Marco cooed, "Umm…" But as soon as he got the others to look up, Tommy had also noticed Marco calling for the attention. Trying to brush it off, Marco quickly insisted, "I just wanted to let you know we're almost done…."

Tommy nodded to them stiffly, not really caring what they must've thought. All he knew was that Jude's newest friends from Degrassi were causing him trouble. He continued to stare at them for a little longer until all of them rapidly looked away and at their instruments. He finally released Sadie completely and questioned, "Are you okay?"

Sadie sniffled slightly, not from tears or anything like that, but just trying to regain her composure. "Yeah," Sadie finally replied after a few more gasps for air. She turned herself slightly to face Tommy, and pressed her back up against the wall to create some space between her and Tommy. She could tell that he was upset, so she added a sincere, "Sorry…"

"It's fine," Tommy remarked as he backed away from Sadie a few more steps. He shook his head, thinking about what a hassle all of that was, and what a handle he always knew Sadie could be. With a more genuine caring tone, Tommy asked, "You sure you're okay?" And as he waited for her response, he thought about what a huge favor all of this was turning out to be. He took Sadie's nod as a valid answer and patted her softly on the back. He turned back to the guys in the recording booth and pressed his finger down on the mic. "As soon as you guys are ready," he offered as the three of them, Tommy, Sadie, and Kwest, took a seat behind the board.


	28. Chapter 28

The band positioned themselves behind their instruments and Craig nodded up towards Tommy and the others. He stared into the other room for a moment with a blank expression. The others didn't know if it was nerves making him freeze in the window like that, but everyone knew something was wrong. It took a minute before Craig was able to ask, "Where did Jude go?"

Tommy furrowed his brow slightly, a little irritated with the fact that some guy was asking where his girlfriend was. He knew that they were friends now, but friendship has a limit. Asking for huge favors on the sake of their relationship for "friends" had already crossed the line enough for one day. "She had to step out with Paige," Tommy replied dryly, giving Craig and not so pleasant look.

"Oh…" Craig cooed disappointedly, completely ignoring the look on Tommy's face. He was too busy in his own nervousness and thinking about the song and their career that he could care less what Tommy was thinking. All Craig knew was that this producer guy already didn't like them, and the one person on their side in the whole studio deal was not actually in the studio.

Glaring a touch more intensely, Tommy harshly pushed down the microphone button and asked eagerly, "Why?" He continued staring at Craig, not giving any notice to the other guys in the band. He raised his eyebrows and impatiently questioned, "Do you need her or something?"

Craig could finally see that he was getting some major heat from Tommy and looked away. She glanced back him to see Spinner sitting at his drum set with a dopey grin on his face. A touch in front of him was Jimmy running his fingers up and down the strings of his bass and opposite of him was Marco, quietly muttering comforting words to himself. Craig returned to face forwards, but he let his head drop to keep from seeing Tommy's angry eyes and the rest of them judging the band. "You could say that…" Craig replied softly.

Only hearing a few words jumbled together, Tommy quickly exclaimed, "What?" He knew he had a knack for making young musicians nervous, and for some reason he really wanted to use his powers to make this guitarist singer puke. "You're burning daylight here."

Hearing Tommy's words of discouragement, Craig stood up straight, nice and tall. He brought his head back up to make eye contact with the three of them on the opposite side of the glass. So far, he didn't have an issue with Sadie or Kwest. All he knew about either of them was that they were both friends with Tommy, and happen to have an input on the music played. The one he had to worry about was the gentleman seated in the middle. And knowing that Tommy already had some sort of grudge against them, Craig just wanted to prove him wrong. He looked Tommy dead in the eye and announced, "This song's called, '(I Know) Everything I Need'."

Tommy nodded and put his headphones on, covering only one ear completely. Kwest put his headphones on the same way as well, and quickly pushed a few buttons. Craig strummed the first note on his guitar and it wasn't long before the music started flowing into everyone's ears. The soft melody was brought to life with intense instrumentals and a strong beat. The music sucked you in before the lyrics even started, and then Craig sang.

_I've known you  
__For no more than a day, but  
__I've known you  
__In my heart every moment_

_I know you  
__Want all the same things I do  
__I know you  
__Want me like I want you_

_So let's just work this out  
__Because my heart wants to shout_

_We're perfect together  
__Be soul mates forever  
__So don't even bother  
__To tell me that I don't know  
__I look in your eyes and I see  
__You're everything I need_

_I know that  
__Fate is on our side this time  
__I know that  
__It's not long before you're mine_

_So let's follow our hearts  
__I can't wait for us to start_

_We're perfect together  
__Be soul mates forever  
__So don't even bother  
__To tell me that I don't know  
__I look in your eyes and I see_

_Everything I could ever dream  
__You'll never know how much you mean  
__For all you are and all you'll be  
__You mean every possible thing to me_

_We're perfect together  
__Be soul mates forever  
__So don't even bother  
__To tell me that I don't know  
__I look in your eyes and I see  
__You're everything I need  
__Need, need, need  
__Everything I could ever need_

_We're perfect together  
__Be soul mates forever  
__So don't even bother  
__To tell me what I already know_

The music faded out and left everyone in the two conjoined rooms shocked. Craig had a vision of this song, but he hadn't even imagined it to turn out so well. And although the other guys of the band had turned their faith to Craig, the had no idea the lyrics would be so powerful, and that they'd nail the instrumentals on their first take with a purpose. They let the music soar out of their hearts like true musicians and they didn't feel like just another garage band. And to the three at the soundboard, they expected another bunch of high schoolers with a failed attempt at rock. But that music that filled G Major was without a doubt, far from failure.

Kwest finally brought his hand up to the last button to stop recording. There was a good minute long delay that he'd usually never allow, but he was shocked. He simply stared into the recording booth and muttered, "Wow."

Sadie swiveled in her chair and turned to face both Tommy and Kwest. Both of them were staring at the band, but she still looked at them as she stated, "Now that was good." She bobbed her head slightly as she started to elaborated, "Them, the music, the lyrics—."

Tommy pressed his lips together and continued watching Craig. There was just a regular teenager standing in that recording booth with his friends. He sang some of the most meaningful lyrics Tommy had heard, and it bothered him. Or more like what the lyrics meant bothered him. Tommy slowly and quietly agreed, "Yeah… The lyrics…"

With a confused expression on his face, Kwest finally turned his head to look at the other two in the room. He was in such awe that he had hardly heard was Sadie said, and now he really didn't know what Tommy said. "What?" he questioned, hoping to figure out what he missed.

"Way to go, Sadie!" Jude exclaimed as flung the door open and rushed into the room. She stomped straight up to the three of them and stood behind Sadie's chair, waiting for her sister to stand. Sadie only halfway up, Jude couldn't wait any longer and continued, "You fight with one of the best friends I've made so far! And now she's just sitting in the car!"

Playing with some of the less important switches on the soundboard, Tommy stared down at the table. He thought for a moment that maybe he should turn around and breakup the sisterly quarrel before there was another catfight, but there was more on his mind. "One of…" he quietly muttered to himself, referring to Jude's choice of words.

Kwest leaned back in his seat and cooed, "Oh." He didn't need anyone to explain what was happening anymore because he understood. There were a lot of mixed emotions in the room right now, and Downtown Sasquatch really wasn't helping.

Jude looked around at the way the three of them were seated at the soundboard and then looked into the booth. "What's going on?" she questioned. She watched the band high-five each other and share giant grins. Knowing that their nerves wouldn't have them acting that way, Jude then asked in an annoyed, "Did they already perform?"

"They went, alright," Kwest stated in a suggestive manner. Even if he did think the guys were great, he wanted to steer clear of the G Major drama that'd always seem to hit. Tommy was his best friend and he'd have his back, but sometimes it's just a little too much to handle.

Stepping away from Sadie now, Jude took a step to the side so she was standing between and behind Kwest and Tommy. "How did they do?" she asked eagerly, hoping the two of them would agree that the band was great. Jude had never actually heard them perform, so she was curious herself. All she had to go on with their music was that a person that loved music as much as Craig had to have some flare for it.

Just catching Jude's question as the band reentered the room, Craig inquired, "Yeah, how did we do?"

Sadie rushed up to the rest of the band excitedly. She was already standing so it only took a few seconds before praising them. "You guys were great!" she answered. Sadie knew that they probably weren't looking for her opinion, but she didn't care. She had to let them know that they were one of her new favorite bands.

Tommy swiveled around in his chair but didn't bother to stand. He wasn't going to jump up and down for a garage band, even if they did perform well. Nodding, Tommy agreed with Sadie and commented, "Yeah, especially you, Craig."

Craig's face lit up with excitement. He knew that they had done well, but he didn't actually expect compliments. At most, he was just hoping they didn't completely bash him. "Thanks!" he exclaimed, grabbing Tommy's hand and shaking it repeatedly. It took him a minute before he let go, but Craig then let out, "Oh man, that's so awesome!"

Looking at his abused hand, Tommy rubbed it on his jeans in a rude way. The band was too busy rejoicing to notice, but Kwest, Sadie, and Jude caught a glimpse of it. Knowing that maybe he was wrong for acting so rashly, Tommy exhaled deeply and tried to mentally straighten himself out. He had such foul thoughts of the kid, and he couldn't get them out of his mind. Turning to his friend, Tommy offered, "Uh, Kwest, why don't you get the usual info from them?" He waited for Kwest to nod before standing up urgently and stating, "I need a break." He stomped out of the room and out into the back alley, hurriedly brushing past Jude in the process.


End file.
